née Golding. Born August 6, 1922, London, England. Died February 28, 1999, Toronto, Ontario. Shortly after the end of World War ll (1939-1945) Una married a Canadian service man, Roy Abrahamson and in 1946 the couple settled in Canada where they raised their two children. She studied painting for awhile but went on to work as an economist and domestic historian for Chatelaine magazine in Toronto. She would also work as publicist for the kitchens at General Foods and would become a director of consumer affairs for the Dominion Store chain of supermarkets. In 1966 she published God Bless Our Home: Domestic Life in Nineteenth Century Canada. In 1974 she published The Canadian Guide to Home Entertaining and followed this the next year with her book, Crafts Canada,  In 1975 she served as chair of the Ontario Council of Health Task Force on dietetics and nutrition. She also contributed numerous articles to various Canadian magazines and was a popular public speaker. Sadly in the fall of 1978 she was hit by an automobile and was in a coma for over a year.  She eventually was able to speak and write. She considered herself a feminist long before it was popular. The University of Guelph Archives holds 2,700 cook books that were her private collection as well as some clippings and radio and TV video tapes. Source: University of Guelph Archives online (accessed 2023); Obituary, online (accessed 2023)

Born 1954, Broadview, Saskatchewan. Died December 3, 2020. As a child, because of her First Nation background she was forced by the government to attend Cowessess Indian Residential School. She completed her Bachelor of  Arts Hon. and Masters of Arts and her Doctorate (PhD)  at the University of Saskatchewan.  She was an Associate Professor in the English department at the First Nations University in Regina. She Working as a journalist she became Saskatchewan's first Native Affairs columnist when she worked at the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix newspaper. She would also contribute to the Regina Leader Post, the Prince Albert Herald, Aboriginal Voices, New Breed, and Windspeaker. Her first book, based on her Masters Thesis, Iskwewak kah Yaw Ni Wahkomakanak, was published in 1995 at the Toronto Women's Press. Janice was also an advocate for Indigenous language and a professor of Indigenous and English Literature at First Nations University of Canada in Saskatchewan.  In 2006 she was interviewed by the National Film Board of Canada for the documentary Finding Dawn which is about murdered and missing Aboriginal women in Canada. Source: The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture, Online (accessed 2025)

Indigenous Author & Cree Language Expert.

Born February 11, 1932, Ahtahkakoop, Saskatchewan. Died April 8, 2008, Saskatchewan. As a youth Freda was forced to attend St Alban’s Residential School in St Albert, Saskatchewan, away from her family. She married Harold Greyeyes from the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and the couple had 12 children. She returned to school in 1968 along with nine of her children to achieve her high school diploma. In 1979 she earned her Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan while teaching the Cree language. From 1976 through 1981 she was a teacher at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College and other Aboriginal schools in the province. In 1984 she graduated with a Master’s of Art Degree in Cree linguistics from the University of Manitoba. She became an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan in 1985 through 1989. She was Director of the Saskatchewan Indian Languages Institute and then took a position as professor of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba until her retirement in 1996. While teaching she wrote numerous books for children, books about the Cree language, and its importance to Cree Culture. In 1998 she was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2005 she was inducted into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online (accessed 2020)

Born August 18, 1845, Ceylon. Died February 1, 1937, Vancouver, British Columbia. After her father’s death his widow and three children relocated to England. In 1857 the mother married Thomas Glennie and by 1900 the family was living in British Columbia. By 1864 the father abandoned the family in Hope, British Columbia. Here Susan established the 1st school in the town. In 1868 she married John Fall Allison, one of the founders of Princeton, British Columbia. The couple had 14 children who they raised in the Similkamun Valley. Susan and her family formed close relations with the Aboriginal population of the area and she learned their stories and translated them to English. She was the 1st European to report sighting the Naitaka (Opopogo), a large serpent like legend of Lake Okanagan. In 1891 the British Association for the Advancement of Science published Susan’s paper on the peoples of Similkameen. In 1900 she published a long narrative poem, In-cow-mad-ket, a story of a local native Chief. She retired to Vancouver in 1928 publishing part of her memoirs in 1931 in the Province newspaper. Her complete memoirs were published by the University of British Columbia in 1976. This publication gives the only British Columbian woman’s account of early settlement in the area. On September 4, 2010 she was declared a National Historic Person. Source: Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations online (accessed 2020)

née Wilson. Born December 3, 1847, Montreal, Lower Canada (now Quebec). Died November 1, 1919, Pasadena, California, U.S.A. Mary spent most of her life in her home province of Quebec.  It was here that she wrote a local history book, Famous Firesides of French Canada which was published in 1899. She also published an historical romance Crossed Swords in 1912. She married Clement John Alloway (1847-1914) who would become known as one of Canada's authorities on horses. The couple had four sons. Mary was also an accomplished artist using water colours and also china painting. Mary died while on holiday in California. Source The Canadian Writing Resource Collaboratory Online

SEE - Gertrude Moltke Bernard

Born 1926, Schefferville (Matimekosh), Quebec. Died 2004. In 1976 she published her first book which as autobiographical, Je suis Une maudite sauvagesse/eukan nin matshimanitu innu-iskueu (I am a damaged savage woman). The book deals with topics of loss of hunting territory, Residential schools and police brutality. A second book followed in 1979 providing a view of a indigenous child on colonization of Turtle Island. In 1981 this second book was adapted for the stage. Her writings were a subsequent inspiration to other Innu writers and a renewed interest in her native language.  (2020)

Born January 9, 1845, La Malbaie, Lower Canada (now Quebec). Died June 6, 1924, Quebec City, Quebec. Félicité was educated by the Ursuline nuns in Quebec where she became fluently bilingual in English and French and also learned German. While she never married she had had a suitor, Pierre-Alexis Tremblay, who would marry another woman. Félicité remained heartbroken. Using the pen name of Laure Conan, she would author of nine novels of French Canadian life. Her first work appeared as a short story Un amour vrai which was published in the Revue de Montréal in 1878 and 1879. She was also a contributor to Le Journal de Françoise, a bimonthly paper edited by the acclaimed Robertine Barry (1863-1910). Félicité was a witness to her time. She was the first French Canadian female novelist with her book Angeline de Montbrun which was first published in serial form and then as a book in 1884. All her novels centered on the three driving forces of French Canadian life: family, nation, and religion. It was unusual at this era for a women to make a living by writing which Félicité did by contributing articles to newspapers, journals, and by writing plays. Source: D C B  

Born July 15, 1861, Christchurch, Monmouthshire, Wales. Died January 13, 1936, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. In 1863 Alice, and her family, immigrated to Canada West (now Ontario). After the death of her father in 1868 the family settled for a while in Whitby, Ontario and then to Yorkville, Ontario. In 1888 Alice published her 1st novel, Tangled Ends. By 1900 she was living in Barrie, Ontario with relatives. Here she contributed verses to periodicals like the Canadian Monthly and The Week using the nom de plume 'Esperance' After the death of her sister in 1917she moved to join a cousin in southern California. Her second novel was published in 1933. Her forth and last novel was published posthumously in 1936. Source: Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory Online (accessed 2020)

Indigenous  Author

Born 1948, Penticton Indian Reserve, British Columbia. She originally studied fine arts at Okanogan College and the University of Victoria. Her current career is being director of the En'owkin Cultural Centre, a cultural and educational organization operated by the Okanogan Nation. Her writings serve the purpose to educate young people about aboriginal history and culture. Her published works have earned the Mungo Martin Award in 1974 and the Helen Pitt Memorial Award in 1978.

Born November 18, 1939, Ottawa, Ontario. 'Peggy' is a poet, novelist, editor and critic is one of Canada's major contemporary authors. She has written novels, television scripts, short stories, children's books many of which have won awards locally, nationally and internationally. Her works have won the Governor General's Award for Literature, the Giller Prize, the Los Angeles Times Prize just to name a few! She has also edited such monumental tomes as the Oxford Book of Canadian Poetry. She has an active interest in Amnesty International. Recognition of her career have been way to numerous to list in one paragraph. The variety of awards runs from MS Magazine Woman of the Year 1986 to being a Companion in the Order of Canada. Check out the online edition for the Canadian Encyclopedia for complete listings of her works and her awards.

Born April 23, 1918, Galt, Ontario. Died July 31, 2007, Toronto, Ontario. When Margaret was two the family relocated to Regina, Saskatchewan and then to Calgary, Alberta before finally settling in 1930 in Toronto. She attended Alma College in  St. Thomas, Ontario, in the mid 1930's. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts in 1940 from the University of Toronto (U of T). During her university studies she had poems published in the Canadian Poetry Magazine and the college magazine Acta Victoriana. She worked as a file clerk, a proof reader, and an editor as well as at the Library at U of T. She would also work as a social worker at the Presbyterian Church Mission in Toronto. These jobs allowed her to live and write. In 1951 a junior high textbook, History of Ontario, was published. In 1956 she earned a Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Grant and attended classes at the University of Chicago and the University of Indiana in the United States. Her first book of poetry Winter son was published in 1960 and earned her a Governor Generals Award in Literature. Moved by the Hungarian Uprising of the mid 1950's she translated Hungarian poems. In 1965 she completed her Master's of Arts at the UofT. She began work on studies towards a Doctorate but did not complete these studies. In 1966 another book of poetry, Dumbfounding was published describing her conversion from agnosticism to Christianity. She was a teacher at the U of T and was writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario in 1973. She went on to work in the Archives of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (C B C) and in 1978 she joined the Mustard Seed Mission in Toronto serving as secretary. In 1984 she became an Officer in the Order of Canada and retired two years later. In 1990 she produced her forth volume of poems winning her second Governor General's Award. In 2003 her publication, Concrete and Wild Carrot won the Griffin Poetry Prize. The University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections holds the Margaret Avison Fonds of textual records, photographs, audio-cassettes, compact discs, and CD-ROM's. Source: Poetry Foundation Online ; Canadian Encyclopedia (accessed 2023)

Born February 19, 1952, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She studied for her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Manitoba and took Law at Osgoode Hall Law School and took her masters in Law at Harvard Law School in the U.S.A. In 1984 she became professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Her legal specialty was women and the law. She is interested in women and the law in history and is an considered an expert in the field of gender issues and sexual harassment. Some of the books she has written are considered basic reading for women's study programs across the country. Some of the titles she has written are: The Secret oppression: Sexual harassment of working women (1979); Sexual Harassment on the Job (1981) Petticoats and Prejudice: Women and the Law in Nineteenth Century Canada (1991) and Colour Coded: a Legal History of Racism in Canada 1900-1950.

née Michener. Marilyn was an author, magazine editor, interior designer, and childhood educator. She was the author of the children's series of books Amazing Things Animals Do aw well as other series for children. She was the editor of Chickadee magazine for children. In 1965 she married A. Charles Baillie (1939-    ) and the couple had four children. She was instrumental in the founding of the Canadian Children's Book Centre. In 2006 an annual Canadian literary award of $25,000.00 for the best illustrated picture book for children was established. In 2012 she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in children's literature. February 1, 2019 she was invested into the Order of Canada. Source: Mrs. Marilyn Baillie, Governor General of Canada, Online. (accessed 2029)

née Todd. Born April 9, 1900, Carlisle, England. Died April 19, 1981, Victoria, British Columbia. In 1991 Irene immigrated to Canada’s west coast with her family and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. A few years later she married an engineer, Robert Baird, and the couple had two children. Like many families the depression was difficult with Robert losing his job. Irene taught at Vancouver St. George’s private school as one of the few female teachers. In 1937 she produced her first novel, John, followed in 1939 by her second novel Waste Heritage. This novel fell out of favour for a while but was rediscovered and republished in 1973 and again in 2007. Other novels were to follow. The family relocated to Victoria, British Columbia, and by the early 1940’s Irene was the family breadwinner. She became a freelance journalist and wrote a column for the Vancouver Sun. In 1942 with Robert no longer in the picture, Irene was offered a job at the National Film Board and Irene and the children relocated to Ottawa, Ontario. In 1944 she married John Grierson who was Director at the National Film Board. Irene’s career covered several federal government departments including the Department of Mines and Resources, the Department of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Her work meant lots of travel throughout North America, Latin America and the United Kingdom. She also had numerous trips to the Canadian Arctic. When she retired in 1967 she had been the first woman to head an Information Division in the federal government. While working for the government she authored numerous travelogues for the publication North/Nord as well as having her short stories and poems appear in Saturday Night magazine, The Beaver (Canada’s History Magazine), the Canadian Geographical Journal, and the UNESCO Currier. In 1973 Irene moved back to Victoria, British Columbia. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online

Born June 1, 1855, Litla Aszeirsa, Iceland. Died October 23, 1941. Helga came to Canada with her parents in 1873. The first settled in Ontario where she married Jakob Jonatonsson Lindal. The couple had two children. She had written poetry in Iceland but it was not until she came to Canada would she have any of her work published. He writings reflected her life story, writing of leaving her homeland and lamenting that in Canada women’s rights often meant women remained in a bad marriage. She became divorced in 1892. She moved to Manitoba and later to British Columbia with her second husband Skuli Arni Stefansson Freeman with whom she had another child. Skuli died in 1904. She published using the pen name 'Undine'. Her works were published in Freyja, an early suffrage journal. While she did put her poems together in a manuscript they were not published until 1952, 11 years after her death. Sources: Herstory: A Canadian Women’s Calendar 2006. Saskatoon: Coteau Books, 2005: Writings by Western Icelandic Women by Kristen Wolf. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1997.

Born February 21, 1892, Ottawa, Ontario. Died April 11, 1969, Montreal, Quebec. Winifred was musically gifted as a child. She began harp lessons at the Rideau Street Convent, Ottawa. In 1910 and 1911 she was performing with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. She relocated to New Yo City, U.S.A. to study further on the harp. She made her debut at New York City's Aeolian Hall on October 22, 1913.  In 1914 she was making recordings for Edison Records' Diamond Disc. From 1920 for the next decade she played in the John Philip Sousa Band. The following decade she was making solo appearances with a circus orchestra traveling Europe. In 1939 she narrowly escaped internment in Leipzig, Austria, at the beginning of World War ll (1939-1945). In 1946 she published a novel Continental Review which highlighted events her experience in pre war Europe. She did a musical tour across Canada. Her tour ended just in time for her to receive the Governor General's Award for English Language Fiction in 1947. She had pared down he novel and turned the left over writings into short stories. It was in 1947 that her second novel, The Lasting Spring, was written but it was never published. She continued to perform on the harp until her emphysema prevented her from working. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online

Born July 19, 1951, Estevan, Saskatchewan. She studied nursing at the University of Saskatchewan earning her Bachelor of Science. in 1974. She began her nursing career in Weyburn, Saskatchewan as a public health nurse. She married Kenney Frank Bannatyne-Cugnet in August 1975 and the couple have 4 sons. She began writing to teach her sons about life on a prairie farm. In 1992 she produced Prairie Alphabet which joined other picture books, A prairie Year, Heartland: a Prairie Sampler. She has also produced two novels for young readers and a picture book on new Canadians called The Day I became a Canadian: a Citizenship Scrapbook.  Jo retired from Nursing in 1994 and keeps busy writing and volunteering in her community. Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan Online

née Killam. Born May 3, 1913, Woodville, Nova Scotia. Died February 2, 2012, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. While as a youth Joyce dreamed of being a missionary. But like so many young women of her generation,  she took the reality check of becoming a teacher. She attended the Truro Normal Collage (teacher’s college) in 1932. She encouraged all her students, even her niece, Margaret Atwood (1939-   ). She often wrote short stories, poems, and plays for her students to provide Canadian content and context that was missing from regular school provided textbooks. In 1942 she married Milton Joseph Barkhouse (   - 1968) and took time from her teaching and writing to raise her two children. In 1974 she published her 1st book: George Dawson: the Little Giant. In 1980 she collaborated with Margaret Atwood for the book: Anna’s Pet. Her work, The Pit Pony won the Ann Connor Brimer Award in Children’s Literature. This story went on to win a Gemini Award when produced as a C BC TV film and later was redone as a min series for TV. She was a member of the Writer’s Federation of Nova Scotia, The writer’s Union of Canada, and the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and performers. She was inaugurated into the Order of Nova Scotia in 2007 and the Order of Canada in 2009. Source: Obituary, Sweeny's Funeral Home 2012  (accessed 2021); Order of Canada online

SEE - Lily Adams Beck

née Luke. Born July 7, 1934, Chelmsford, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Nancy earned her Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She married William 'Bill' Bauer (d2010), a Canadian, and moved to New Brunswick in 1945. The couple raised a family of two sons and one daughter. She was the publisher of 25 New Brunswick Chap Books. She was the founder of the Maritime Writers Workshop. She has been writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick, The Cape Code Writers Conference, and Bemidji State University in Michigan, U.S.A. She writes articles about craftspeople, visual artists, and writers for various Canadian maritime magazines. She has written several novels and has won the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in the Literary Arts in 1999.Source: Nancy Bauer, NB's History at a glance, UNB Libraries, online  (accessed 2020)

née Collier. Born 1789?, England. Died March 21, 1868, Bridport, Dorset, England. In 1805 Diana married George Naylor.  The couple had one son and one daughter. When she remarried to Henry Addington Bayley (1789?-1882) the children too their stepfather's name. In 1825 she published Tales of the Heath for young readers when the family lived in Barbados in the West Indies. In 1827 she published a travel account called Scenes at Home and Abroad. Accounts record that a third child joined the family. By 1832 the family was living in Lower Canada (now Quebec). She continued writing publishing she poems, stories and life sketches in the Montreal Museum and The Literary Garland. She is considered the first Canadian resident to publish children's literature. In the 1840's the family was in Kingston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). By 1851 the family was in England. Source: Early  Canadian Women  Writers online (accessed 2022)

Born April 29, 1912, Green Lake, Saskatchewan. Died September 1998, Flying Dust First Nation, Saskatchewan. Nehiyaw wrote  a story of herself and her sister being lost in the forest when they were pre teens called Wanisinwak iskwesisak; otbcimowiniwbwa published in 1991. She followed this with the publication in 1992 of Kthkominawak otbcimowiniwbwa/Our Grandmothers' Lives, as Told in Their Own Words, which was written by several elders. She was a Cree elder and traditional story teller. She was also the 1st woman to be Chief on the Flying Dust First Nation. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers Online

Born May 21, 1922, St. Catharines, Ontario. Died September 17, 2005, St. Catherines, Ontario. After High school Jeann worked in a clerical position at the St. Catherines Standard newspaper. After four years in 1944 she left her job to study journalism at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. She would become a freelance journalist living in Niagara-on-the-Lake writing for various Canadian newspapers and magazines such as Maclean's. She was also a television producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (C B C) In 1950 Jeann published her fist novel Behold the Hour which was set within the C B C. This first novel won the Ryerson Award for fiction. She was an advocate for social justice seeking fairer treatment of you in juvenile detention. In 1971 she published the book And the Tiger Leaps. After retiring from journalism she returned to her home town and gave writing workshops at the St. Catharines Public Library. Source: Lives Lived. Globe and Mail March 8, 2006 (2022)

Born October 2, 1896, Blair, Ontario. Died October 5, 1985, Hamilton, Ontario. Jessie published her 1st poem when she was just 15 years old. She continued her writing under the name, Rainbow Bright. After high school she worked in libraries in Kitchener, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario and Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. By 1928 she had returned home to care for her aging parents. She also tutored neighboring children and obtained a special license to teach from the Province of Ontario. In 1929, and 1931 Ryerson Press published books of her poems and her 1st novel, Hill Top appeared in 1935. These early works would be followed by some 20 books, three plays and an operetta. In an attempt to raise funds for library books, Jessie wrote and produced a play that soon found her traveling throughout Ontario to help produce school plays  in various towns as a representative of the Ontario Welfare Council. From 1937-1939 she was a “House Mother” at Coronation Cottage at the Ontario Training School for Girls in Galt. World War ll found her working at the Vancouver Public Library in British Columbia. She married David Griffin and the couple settled in Hamilton, Ontario where she continued writing even though her sight was greatly weakened. In 1995 she was inducted into the City of Cambridge (Ontario) Hall of Fame. Source: Jessie Louise Beattie, City of Cambridge Hall of Fame. Online (accessed January 2013)

née Frowd. Born 1805? Summerside, England. Died September 14, 1871. The wife of the Rev. James Beaven, a practicing minister and professor of divinity in King's College in Toronto. Her husband was a writer and no doubt the absence of materials for young ladies prompter her to write her own book called, Devotions for School Girls [Toronto : n. d.] In the 1840's her husband would write of visits to Indian Missions in the Canadas. Perhaps she had traveled with him on these ventures. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers Online

née Shaw. Born 1818, Belfast, Ireland Died August 6, 1897. Emily and her family would sail with their sea faring father to New Brunswick in 1836. June, two years later, she married Frederick William Cadwallader Beavan, a surgeon in the militia. Three of their family of seven children would be born in Canada. She enjoyed writing and her poetry and stories appeared in the Armaranth, the 1st magazine of New Brunswick. Her works appeared with the signature style of the day as wither Mrs. B or as Emily B. In 1843 the family sailed to settle in England. However the life in the Canadian province stayed with Emily and in 1845 she published Sketches and Tales Illustrative of the Life in the Backwoods’ of New Brunswick, North America. She intended the work to be a handbook of prospective settlers. She even detailed the effect of weather on a woman’s skin. Today the work is studied by students as a valuable historic profile of her times in the colony. In 1852 the Beavan family sailed for Melbourne to finally settle in Australia. Sources: D C B V. VII pg 792 ; A celebration of women writers  (accessed April 2008)

Born October 25, 1956, Montreal, Quebec. As a child living in small town Quebec Andrea enjoyed the freedom of a vivid imagination and the outdoors. Her mother took the family to live in Montreal when Andrea was 11 and she was not impressed with the city. She attended Dawson College taking art and then went to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art. Later she would attend York University in Toronto for her Bachelor degree and the University of Toronto for her Masters degree in social Work. Although she works as a registered Clinical Consultant her imagination and love of drawing could not be shelved. She actually founded a toy business making stuffed animals like moose and beavers. It would be here that the embryo of the character for children’s stories Elliot Moose would become part of Andrea’s life. She began writing stories and when Elliot was sent to the Kids Can Press he was an instant success with the publisher and with readers. Elliot even has his own TV show! IN 2003 she was forced to rest and recuperate from two minor automobile accidents. By 2007 she was back to writing and drawing and Pierre le Poof, a poodle dog with an attitude came alive and also very popular with the young readers. Andrea has enjoyed traveling to such places as the rainforest in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe England and Russia making her travels a fertile ground to be background for stores. Andrea has two sons and lives in Unionville, Ontario, just east of Toronto. Sources:: Andrea Beck by Dave Jenkinson, Canadian Magazine online (accessed January 2007).            

née Moresby. Born 1862(?) Died January 3, 1931. She traveled to Asia and the Orient but did not begin to write until 1919 and was 1st published in 1922. She wrote under several pen names and became well known under all the names she used: E. Barrington; Eliza Louisa Beck; and L (Louis) Moresby. During her career she would write almost thirty books published in Toronto, Boston, New York and London. Many of her books were set in the Orient. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers Online

née Beckwith. Born March 10, 1796, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Died November 28, 1867, New Brunswick. Julia wrote the first work of fiction by an Indigenous Canadian to be published in Canada. Her novel was called, St. Ursula’s Convent or the Nun of Canada, Containing Scenes From Real Life, published in 1824. It took her ten years to find a publisher and only 165 copies were printed. Almost all original copies have been lost. She wrote this book when she was only 17 years old. In 1820, shortly after her father’s death, she relocated to Kingston, Upper Canada (now Ontario), to live with family. Here she met and married George Henry Hart and established a boarding school for girls. She would continue publishing with two additional novels while she raised a family of six children. It was not until the turn of the century in 1900 that she recognized for her works. May 30  1951 she was designated a National Historic Person by the Government of Canada. Source: Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations Online (accessed 2010)

Born December 19, 1920, Dilke, Saskatchewan. Died June 29, 2003, Regina, Saskatchewan. Margaret attended Luther College, Regina and went on to studies at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Toronto. After graduation from university she taught high school in Rosetown, Saskatchewan. She moved to become a professor of French at Regina College (now University of Saskatchewan) and later served a Dean of women. An avid ornithologist, she published the first edition of The Birds of Regina. In 1987 she published, Bird Imagery in the Lyric Poetry of Tristan L'Hermite. She was an active member of the Saskatchewan Natural History Society where she served as recording secretary, president, and for over 20 years editor of the Society's quarterly publication. In 1989 she was named a Fellow of the Saskatchewan Natural History Society. In 1996 she published The Isabel Priestly Legacy, the biography of a Canadian biologist. In 1997 she was invested in the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. In 2003 Margaret received the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal. The Margaret Belcher Reading Room is located at Luther College, University of Regina.  Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2022); University of Regina (accessed 2022)

SEE - Businesswomen

Born August 31, 1877, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Died March 3, 1894, Vancouver, British Columbia. Margaret earned her teaching certificate from the Winnipeg Norma School (teachers' college). She contributed to the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper and collected stories from local Aboriginals. She was a member of the Winnipeg Branch of the Canadaian Women's Press Club (C W P C) where she helped create Christmas Knapsack, an anthology published to faise funds for First world war (1914-1918) soldiers. She also wrote short stories and novels. When she was 82 she retired to live in Vancouver, British Columbia. In al she published seven books, including: Stories From Prairie and Mountain in 1909, Manitoba Primer in 1910 and in 1965 The Arrow Sash. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers online

née Granger. Born 1891 Shorten, Dorsetshire, England. Died April 19, 1988. Ethel and her family immigrated to Canada when she was an infant. Settling in Collinwood, Ontario, young Ethel was writing for the Collingwood Bulletin while still in school. She would attend the University of Toronto. Graduating in 1915 she taught at the Ontario Ladies College in Whitby, Ontario before she married in 1919 and moved to teach in Pennsylvania. She earned her PhD at the University of Wisconsin and Lectured in French in Victoria during the 1940’s.  In the late 1950’s she published three historical novels featuring women in New France. She won the Ryerson Fiction Award in 1960 for her work Short of Glory.  She also penned stories for Children for Discovery Magazine. Source: E. J. Pratt Library, University of Toronto, Online (accessed 2015)

née Patenaude. Born March 21, 1904, Montreal, Quebec. Died November 24, 1987, Sutton, Quebec. Jehane studied the culinary arts at the Sorbonne and Le Cordon Blue in Paris France. She returned home to Quebec and started her own cooking school, Fumet de L Vieille France in Montreal. Jehane is best remembered as Madame Benoit. This food consultant turned to TV as a medium to explain Canadian cuisine to her home and native land.  She also published some 30 books to generate interest in her field. She studied at the Cordon Bleu and held a degree as a food chemist from the Sorbonne in France. She opened  her own cooking school in Montreal, Fumet de la Vieille France.  She also opened one of the 1st Canadian vegetarian restaurants, the Salad Bar in 1935. She became a proponent of microware cooking and was hired as salesperson for Panasonic Microwaves.  In 1973 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2012 the biography, A la découverte de Jehane Benoit, le roman de la grande dame de la cuisine canadienne was published by Marguerite Paulin and Marie Desjardins. Source: Jehane Benoit, Canadian Cook Extraordinaire C B C , Online (accessed 2028);Canadian Encyclopedia online (accessed 2018)(2024)

Born June 18, 1906, Mattawa, Ontario. Died June 17, 1986, Kamloops, British Columbia. As a youth she was somewhat of a tom-boy and her friends named her ‘Pony’. At 19 the young Iroquois girl met the much older fur trapper known as Grey Owl (1888-1938) who claimed to be a half-blood Apache. They were married in a traditional ceremony even though he was already married to his 1st wife. He called Gertrude ‘Anahareo'. She would convince him to give up trapping and publish his writings for which he became famous. The couple had one daughter Shirley Dawn born in 1932. They were separated two years before his death when it was revealed that he was not a Native American but a British citizen by the name of Archie Belaney. In 1940, Anahareo wrote a book of her life with Grey Owl, Devil in Deerskin. After the death of Grey Owl (1888-1938) she married Count Eric Moltke Huitfeld and the couple had two daughters. She always remained committed to conservation and animal rights. In 1979 she was inducted into the Order of Nature of the International League of Animal rights located in Paris, France. In 1983 she was inducted as a member of the Order of Canada. She was buried beside Grey Owl and their daughter Dawn at Ajawaan Lake, Saskatchewan. Source: Archibald Belaney and Gertrude Bernard (Grey Owl and Anahareo) Parks Canada, Online; Canadian Encyclopedia online

Born June 18, 1911, Preston, Ontario. Died May 1, 1993, Kitchener, Ontario. Clare became wheelchair bound after having polio when she was only 11. She was unable to attend high school because of lack of accessibility but she educated herself by reading. At 17 she had an article published in the magazine, Girlhood Days. She would go on to write book reviews for the local newspaper the Prestonian. She wrote poems that were published in various magazines including the Ladies Home Journal and the Toronto Star Weekly. During World War ll she wrote a column for the Canadian Red Cross and was a correspondent for the Kitchener –Waterloo Record. Along with her short stories that were published she wrote two novels and a play. Miss Bernhardt wrote the lyrics for the Canadian Centennial year hymn that was provided to churches across the country in 1967. For 30 years she would write a column for her local paper about the world from her point of view. In 1991 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario. Source: Hall of Fame, City of Cambridge, Ontario Online (accessed March 2013)

Born November 10, 1922, Montreal, Quebec. Died January 20, 2016, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, United Kingdom. A novelist she produced ten lively novels about women at various stages of life who struggled to live freely trying to discover who they really were once they had thrown off restraints of husbands, fathers and society itself. . She had married Christopher Pressnell. The Book of Eve published in 1973 in several countries was adapted to a stage plan and was produced at the Stratford Festival in 1976-77. The main character in the book Eva is one of the best lover characters in Canadian literature. In 2002 a film version of the book altered the main flavor of the book and made Eva of Romanian descent rather then a Czech immigrant. Two addition works, A Population of One and The Marriage Bed were made into films by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (C B C). Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online

née Thompson. Born March 13, 1878, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Died November 26, 1967, Vancouver, British Columbia. Laura was a school teacher in Toronto prior to taking a teaching position in Dawson City , Yukon in 1921.  She married Francis 'Frank' George Berton (1871-1945) and the couple had two children. In 1932 the family settled in British Columbia. In 1954 she published her autobiography, I Married the Klondike.  Her son Pierre Francis deMarigny Berton (1920-2004) would become a well known author and historian. Source: Pioneer Women of the Yukon, Online  (accessed 2022)

Born May 26, 1884, Streetsville, Ontario, Died October 5, 1951, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Frances Marion moved with her family to Manitoba in 1889, settling in the Hartney. district on a family farm.  Like her siblings, Beynon earned a teaching certificate. She taught near Carman before moving to Winnipeg in 1908 to work in the T. Eaton Company’s advertising department. She was an active member of the Quill Club. In 1912 she became the 1st full-time women’s editor of the Grain Growers’ Guide, holding the post until 1917. She and her sister Lillian fought for a variety of women’s issues, including suffrage, dower legislation, and homesteading rights for women, but she lost much public credibility when she began to criticize the war. She left Manitoba in 1917 for the United States, where she wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, Aleta Day, and continued her journalistic work. Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia online

née Ditmars. Born July 11, 1946, Digby, Nova Scotia. Died July 21, 2022, Lindsay, Ontario. Janice studied Music at the University of New Brunswick prior to earning her Master's in Library Science from the University of British Columbia.  She worked as a public librarian and Children's librarian in Thunder Bay, Ontario. In the mid 1980's she married John Bick. In 200 she retired from her library job and she and John were soon running the Spruce Lane Bed and Breakfast on John's ancestral farm near Bobcageon, Ontario. In 2006 she published Belinda Lee, a book for children. Janice enjoyed singing and was a member of several choirs and was involved with the Bobcageon Music Council. Along with singing in the Trinity United Church Choir she served as secretary on the church council. Source: Obituary online (accessed 2023)

née Bartlette. Born April 22, 1942, Hamiota, Manitoba. Sandra left home at 15. She studied at the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba. In 1966 she relocated to Regina Saskatchewan. An award winning novelist and short story writer. Her 1st book, The Night Travelers was published when she was 40.  she has won the 1984 Gerald Lampert Award for Night Travelers. In 1990 the Missing Child won the Books in Canada First Novel Award. In 1993 she won  the Marian Engel e Award. She has also been nominated more than once for the Governor General's Award. In 2001 The Russlander took Saskatchewan Book of the year Award for  Best Saskatchewan Fiction.  She married filmmaker Jan Zarzycki and the couple have three children. In 2010 she became a member of the Order of Canada and in 2012 she was invested with the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online

Born October 5, 1939, Quebec City, Quebec. Died November 30, 2021, Key West, Florida, U.S.A. Marie-Claire attended Laval University were friends encouraged her to become a writer. At 20 in 1959 she published her 1st novel, Labelle Bete, in English translation, the Mad Shadow. Since then there have been some 20 novels, several plays, as well as published collections of poetry. In 1963 she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. where she met her life partner, Artist Mary Meigs (died 2002). The couple lived in France for awhile before settling in Montreal. Her books have been translated into English, Italian and even Chinese. Her works have garnered her a multitude of awards from both Canada and abroad. In 1965 there was the Prix France, Canada followed in 1968 with the 1st of several Governor’s General Awards (1979, 1996, 2001, 2005, and 2008). There is also the W. O. Mitchell Award in 2000, the Prix Prince Pierre de Monaco and in 2006 Matt Cohen Prize. In 1972 she was inducted in to the Order of Canada and she also has been inducted into the Ordre National du Quebec. From France she is a Chevalier in the Ordre of Lettres. In 1995/96 she was the International Woman of the Year awarded by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Along with her novels she is known for her plays and poetry. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed February 2014) 

Born April 17, 1865, Quebec City, Quebec. Died March 4, 1928, London, Ontario. Victoria's father, Josiah Blackburn(1823-1890), was editor and proprietor of the London Free Press in London, Ontario. She attended Hellmuth Ladies College, London, Ontario and then taught in the U.S.A. during the 1890's. She began her career writing for the London Free Press in 1900 and become the Literary and drama critic for the newspaper. From 1906 through 1910 she immersed herself in cultural affairs in Europe with her sisters. Victoria was active in London's theatre and various clubs. In 1910 she was a founding member of the local Women's Canadian Club and served as President in 1918-1919. She also served as president of the London Women's Press Club. from 1921-1923.  In 1918 she became an assistant managing editor in London for ten years. She continued to contribute essays, travelogs and poems, as well as editorials. Her works were written under the pen name of 'Fanfan.' She was a prolific poet and is also known to have produced two plays. Her only novel The Man Child, which was set in the trenches of World War l, would be published in 1930 after her death. There is an historical Plawue outside the home on Talbot St., where she lived with her sisters for 16 years. Source D C B Online

née Liffton. Born May 2, 1891, Montreal Quebec. Died September 9, 1961, North Saanich, British Columbia. Capi was raised in a wealthy family and loving sports she was considered a 'Tomboy'. In May of the early 1910's she married Geoffrey Orme Blanchet. After her husband's death in 1926 she took a cruise along the coast of British Columbia along with her five children.  She wrote an account of her family travels was published in 1961 under the title, The Curve of Time, which was published posthumously. When she died she had been working on a second book which was published in 1983 as, A Wale Named Henry. Source: Van Isle History Explorer online (accessed  2019;)Find a Grave online (accessed 2024)

née McKishnie Born November 4, 1862, Scotia, Lake Erie, Canada West. (now Ontario). Died August 19, 1934,*  Chatham, Ontario. After high school Jean married Bassett Blewett in 1879. That same year she published her 1st novel Out of the Depths. Her poem, Spring, won her $600.00 from the Times Herald, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. She contributed articles to the Toronto Globe newspaper before joining the staff at that newspaper where she became editor of the homemaker's department in 1898.  She went on to  publish several volumes of poetry in 1897, 1906 and 1922.  She retired from journalism and writing in 1925. She wrote a booklet, Heart Stories to benefit World War l charities. She was a welcome lecturer on topics such as temperance and suffrage. She often used the name Katherine Kent for some of her works. She retired from the Globe in 1925 due to ill health and lived with her daughter in Lethbridge, Alberta for a couple of years before relocating back to Toronto in 1927. * Date of death varies in reports. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

Born December 12, 1926, Souris, Manitoba. Died November 4, 1959, Montreal, Quebec.  Patricia moved to Winnipeg with her family in the 1930s and attended the University of Manitoba from 1944 to 1947. Patricia worked as a broadcaster for the CBC and later moved to Montreal and began writing professionally in 1955. Her book From Heaven with a Shout was published in 1963 and serialized in Chatelaine magazine. Her most critically acclaimed work, A Candle to Light the Sun, was published posthumously in 1960. Sources: Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted  (University of Manitoba Press, 1999) : Memorable Manitobans Online (accessed December 2011)

Born October 20, 1945, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. Jo Ellen moved to Canada as an adult in 1975 and she began to consider a career as a writer. By the mid 1980's she had several prepared manuscripts to present to a publisher. Animals in the form a  Coatimundi, and Argentine desert tortoise, and Africa Clawed frog, Alvin the chipmunk, several mice gerbils and guinea pigs have been a part of her home menagerie over the years. To write a book about a Blue Macaw was a natural stretch for this author. For her, as an author, there is sheer enjoyment in making something up and kicking the story. The next best thing is having other people enjoying what she has written as a poem or a story.

née Eedy. Born 1918, Walkerton, Ontario. Died 2007. She earned her B.A. from Victoria College, University of Toronto, in 1939. While working as a hospital social worker in Toronto and Vancouver she wrote short stories that appeared in various magazines such as: Canadian Forum, Alphabet and Exile: A Literary Quarterly. She also wrote for the Anthology series on CBC radio. After marrying Arthur Boissoneau, a specialist in forestry, Alice began writing fiction in the isolation of northern Ontario. The novel Eileen McCullough was short listed in 1977 for the W. H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and was followed by A Sudden Brightness (1994). The memoir There Will Be Gardens was published in 1991. Sources: Yvonne McKague Hauser Collection. E. ,J. Pratt Library, University of Victoria Campus, University of Toronto. Online  (accessed July 2013.) Suggestion submitted by Jeanne Ouellette, Ottawa, Ontario.

Born July 8, 1888, St Victor de Beauce, Quebec. Died December 21 / 22, 1939, Saint Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec. Eveline studied at the Convent de la Congrégation Notre-Dame, Ottawa,  Macdonald College, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue . She also studied science and economics at Cornell University. In 1930 she began her main career  working as a translator for the Canadian Senate in Ottawa where she was the first woman translator for the Debates of the Senate.  She would establish herself by writing Manuel de l'Equette curante parmi la bonne société canadienne-française (Ottawa, Queen's Printer, 1937) and Contes et dictions populaires Canadiens. Source: Patrimoine Beauceville-écrivains et témoins de l'histoire beauceronne, online (accessed 2025)

Born July 4, 1906, Fox Bay, Falkland Islands. Died April 6, 1997, Victoria, British Columbia.  When Melvina was a child the family moved to England. and in 1926 to Ottawa. Melvina held several secretarial positions at the House of Commons in Ottawa from 1928 to 1939, most notably as personal secretary to Canada's 1st female M. P., Agnes Macphail (1890-1954), from 1928 to 1936. Melvina returned to London, where she worked until 1944 as personal assistant to the senior officer at the Canadian Military Headquarters. She also  held various positions with the American government, working in New York and Washington, D.C. Returning to Ottawa in 1946, she worked for the Canadian Geographical Society, becoming assistant editor of the Canadian Geographical Journal in 1948. She wrote of Image of Canada  (Ryerson Press, 1953). She  moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1956 to become assistant editor of the Hudson Bay Company Beaver, and then its editor from 1958 to 1972. She widened the scope of the magazine beyond its historical focus, introducing such subjects as art, nature and archaeology. Awards during her life, included the Canadian Historical Association's Order of Merit, the Alberta Historical Association Award, the Washington State Historical Society's Captain Robert Gray Medal and the American Association of State and Local History Award of Merit. In 1970, she received the Medal of Service of the Order of Canada was awarded a Manitoba Centennial Medal by the Manitoba Historical Society. She retired to Victoria, British Columbia. Sources: Archives of Manitoba. Fonds of Malvina M. Bolus. Online (accessed December 2011) ; Memorable Manitobans Online. (accessed December 2011)

SEE  - Journalists

Born June 8, 1927, Vienna, Austria. Died May 27, 2007, Montreal, Quebec. After completing studies in France,  Monique arrived in Canada and settled in Montreal in 1948. She worked at Radio Canada International while completing her PhD at the Université de Montréal in 1953. She worked as a journalist at La Press and Le Devoir newspapers as well as being the literary critic for MacLean’s Magazine. In 1961 she published her 1st novel Un amour maladroit which won the ‘First Novel’ Award in the U.S.A. In 1962 she became a professor of French literature at Université de Montréal.  She published numerous novels, collections of short stories, and collected volumes of poetry all in her beloved French language. In 1970 she earned the Governor’s General Award for French Language in Fiction for La Femme de Loth. The book was translated the following year into English under the title Lots’ Wife. In 1992 she won the Prix-Grandbois for poetry and in 1996 she earned the Prix Athanase-David. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online

Born 1862, Quebec City, Quebec. Died 1979. During World War l (1914-1918) Hazel volunteered for hospital work in France. Hazel created original watercolours for illustrations in her books. In 1938 she published French Canada, pictures and Stories of Old Quebec and the work was republished in 1967. In 1966 Legends of Quebec was published. (2022)

Born July 20, 1951, Winnipeg, Manitoba. If you have read any children's stories about a shy turtle called Franklin then you are familiar with the work of Paulette Bourgeois. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy in 1974 from the University of Western Ontario (Western University) London, Ontario. She worked as an psychiatric occupational therapist for three years before becoming a full time author. She went on to study journalism at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario and worked as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC television. For awhile she was a freelance journalist in Washington D.C., U.S.A. writing for Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Reader's Digest and MacLean's magazine. In 1983, after returning to Toronto she graduated with a Master's in Fine Art in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia in 2009. While she often takes ideas for her books from her own life experiences she admits that she never had a pet turtle! She also likes to write information books for young readers like ; The Amazing Apple Book , The Amazing Paper Book, or The Moon. In 2003 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2007 she received an Award of Merit form the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.

Born December 16, 1936, Toronto, Ontario. Karleen was nine when she moved with her family Argentina, South America and returned to Canada to attend university.  After graduation she travelled the world for 34 years as a Foreign Service Officer. Since 1977 she has enjoyed producing some 20 books for young adult readers. She is a working mother of three children who also found time to contribute to her profession by holding positions at organizations such as the Writers Union of Canada, the Canadian Authors' Association and the Public Lending Rights Commission. Her own books have won awards such as; The Max and Greta Ebel Award 1990 ( Windward Island ) and the Young Adult Canadian Book Award of the Canadian Library Association in 1993. The titles of some of her other books include: The Nine Days Queen, The Haunting at Cliff House, There Will Be Wolves, Animal Heroes, Shadows on a Sword. Check the shelves of your local public Library for these exciting titles.

Born 1953, Guayaguayare, Trinidad and Tobago. Dionne immigrated to Canada in 1970 and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. By 1989 she had attained her Master's Degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (O I S E) . From 1989 though 1996 she made a number od documentary films with the National Film Board's feminist-film production unit, Studio D.  A poet, novelist, and non-fiction writer she focuses on issues relating to Black women. She is an active fighter for the rights of marginalized communities, especially Blacks and women. Land to Light On won the 1997 Governor General's Award for poetry. Her writings have also earned the Trillium Prize for Literature, the Pat Lowther Award for Poetry, the Harbourfront Writers' Prize, and the Toronto Book Award among others  Dionne was Toronto's third poet Laureate from September 2009 though to November 2022. In 2017 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. (2023)

Born July 13, 1923, Saint Léon de Val Racine, Quebec. Died August 15, 2010, Ottawa, Ontario. The family relocated to Ontario and she grew up in Val Gagné near Timmins in Northern Ontario. Like many of her generation she turned first to teaching for a career earning her teaching certificate from the University of Ottawa. She returned to university in 1946 to earn her Bachelor of Arts. After university she married Robert Nantais and the couple had five children. Hélène taught high school and wrote as a freelance journalist for various newspapers and magazines and later she became a successful civil servant working in information services for the federal Treasury Board. Through all of this her desire to write remained strong. She has published works in both English and French. She was known for the trilogies Les chroniques du Nouvel-Ontario and The Saga of Northern Ontario and other historical novels. Her works have earned the Prix Champlain, Prix du Nouvel-Ontario and Prix du Droit. In 1983 she wrote the TV script Les Ontariens in 1997. Source: Deces de l'auteure Helene Brodeur, C B C Aout 18, 2010 online (accessed 2011)

née Moore. Born January 12, 1724, Claypole, Lincolnshire England. Died Jan 23, 1789, Seaford, England. Francis used the pseudonym Mary Singleton Spinster for her early writings and in 1755-1755 she founded a magazine she called The Old Maid which ran for 37 issues. Married in 1756 she gave up her publication. She joined her husband, the Rev. John Brooke, garrison chaplain at Quebec, from 1764 -1768. She wrote what may be described as the first Canadian novel The History of Emily Montague (4 vols. London 1769 reprinted in 1931) which was set in Quebec City. The work provides a vivid description of the Canadian landscape and social life including scandals of the time. Back in England she would pen additional novels but no more with a Canadian setting. She was also a playwright, essayist, librettist, and stage director. She was well known in the London literary and theatrical circles. She was one of the first women in the 18th century to live by her writing. Source: D C B online

Born February 15, 1958, Loretteville, Quebec. Chrystine earned her Bachelor of Arts from Université Laval. She is a well known author of historical novels and thrillers  for children, youth and adults. In 1982 her 1st novel Chère voisine was published. It was made into a film called Good Neighbours and debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010. She is the recipient of the French Ordre de la Pléiade and the Popular Choice Award from the Salon du livre de Montréal. In 2007 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. (2019)

née Horwood. Born January 10, 1919, Rose Blanche, Newfoundland. Died December 30, 1986, Newfoundland & Labrador. Cassie began writing as a teenager and later worked as a freelance writer of scripts and educational broadcasts for the C B C. She wrote articles for various publications, short stories and participated in radio dramatizations. In the 1950's her work received five awards through the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letter Competition. From 1959-1966 she was a reporter for the Daily News and she also published and edited the magazine Newfoundland Women (1961-1964). She retired from the Daily News to work on her book Death on the Ice (1972), a gripping account of the 1914 sealing disaster. She went on to write two additional books. Her papers have been deposited in the Centre of Newfoundland Studies. Source: Newfoundland Heritage online

Lois is a journalist and has worked many years in corporate communications. Lois has lived in Maputo, Mozambique as an international volunteer during the struggle against apartheid. She has travelled throughout the United Kingdom and Europe during the 1970’s and as well has experienced extended stays in Mexico and Costa Rica.  In 1992 she published :Girls of Summer: In their own League (Harper Collins). She maintains a web site with the same name as the book, which updates research concerning members of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. She has written several novels, one of which, Murder in the Clubhouse, is set in the shadow of the early days of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. In 2009 Lois was once again an international volunteer, this time in Northern India and Pokhara, Nepal. Source: The Girls of Summer by Lois Brown (accessed February 2014)

Born 1887, Tiverton, Ontario. Died 1978. After graduating high school in 1905 she attended Normal School (teacher’s college) and then joined a cousin at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. The two would graduate in 1912. Together the cousins had joined the Student Volunteers, a Christian youth movement and took extra courses in religion. They were cleared for mission work by the Women’s Missionary Society of the Methodist (now United Church of Canada) and prepared to sail for China. Margaret would return to school during furloughs. In 1928 she attended the Ontario College of Education in Toronto and in 1935 she earned a masters degree in Chinese Studies. Although she began a doctoral program at Columbia University, New York, U.S.A. she never completed her degree. In July 1913 she left Canada going to China beginning a 38 year career of serving the call to mission in China. She served in Hwaiking and was instrumental in opening the 1st full primary school for girls in the city as well as a school for young married women. During her 3rd term in China she became an editor of the Christian Literature Society and later she worked as a translator for the Canadian Commissioner of Trade. Her sill in the Chinese language even permitted her to write books in the language! During the Japanese military activities in China in the late 1930’s she worked from Hon Kong under the British Consulate and although there were intervals in China once Communism took over China foreign missionaries were not allowed on the mainland. Her personal writings and those published have left a view of Christian Mission efforts in a changing Chin., an area of history that is just being studied. She retired home to Canada in 1956. Sources: From the Pages of Three Ladies: Canadian Women Missionaries in Republican China. By Deborah Shulman (MA Thesis, Concordia University, 1996) ;

née Matheson. Born November 24, 1905, St Barnabas Mission, Onion Lake Saskatchewan. Died July 6, 2009. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Scott Matheson (1866-1958) who was the 1st doctor in Saskatchewan. In 1928 she earned her BA from the University of Manitoba and began teaching in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1933 she married Geoffrey Buck. In 1946 she and her daughter moved to Regina, Saskatchewan. She was elected a a member of the Civic Voters Standard and served on the Regina Collegiate Board until her retirement in 1967. In 1973 she published The voices of the Plaines Cree. She wrote the biography of her mother entitled The Doctor Rode Side Saddle in 1974. The Ruth M. Buck School with the Regina School Board is named in her honour. At her death she left an unpublished manuscript The Lives of Rory McRae (1888-1977). Source: Mrs. Ruth M. Buck, Regina Board of Education. Online (accessed June 2014)

SEE  - Politicians & Civil Servants

Born March 29, 1945, Winnipeg, Manitoba. For this author who writes books for young readers, her inspiration often comes from happenings in her own life. She has lots of ides for books and stories and often wishes she was more than one person so she could put all of her ideas into her computer. She suggests that aspiring young writers keep a combination diary sketchbook to collect information and pictures which could be used for writing a book. Margaret won the Vicky Metcalf Award in 1996. This award is presented to authors who have written more than 4 books which young readers find an inspiration. Her writings have garnered numerous awards including in 1994 the Saskatchewan Book Awards Book of the Year, in 1995 the Marian Engel Award and in 1999 the Giller Prize for her work The Good House.

Born March 6, 1933, Bonaventure, Quebec. Died January 18, 1881, Montreal. After leaving her school with the nuns of the Holy Rosary she attended the Montreal Institute of Graphic Arts. In 1953 she created her firs post poems with Gilles Constantineau. Her first collection of her works was with Editions Erta: Au Catalog de solitudes in 1955. This was followed in 1958 with La Fille unique. She went on to write tales and illustrated them with linocut illustrations by children. She earned a Bachelor's degree in pedagogy from the  Ecole des beaux-arts de Montreal. In the 1960's she worked producing books with Micmac children. She co-directed a film about these Micmac children; The World Will Take Us for Savages in 1964 with the National Film Board (N F B). In 1968 she gave a workshop for children on the boat L'Escale. In 1882 an anthology of her works, Piouke unique girl was produced and that same year an exhibition of her works was held at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1991 through 2000 the Françoise-Bujold Prize was presented. Source: Musée de la Gaspésie online  (accessed 2024)

Born October 3, 1920, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. Died September 30, 2014, Knowlton, Quebec. Angela's Parents had traveled to Buffalo from their home in Timmins, Ontario, because Buffalo had good hospitals. Angela was born a dual citizen. She attended Loretto Abbey Convent in Toronto and Couvent de Ste. Marie, a French language boarding school, Haileybury, Ontario, and Branksome Hall, a private girls school. In 1938 she and her sister had a chaperoned tour of Europe. Back home in Canada, she graduated from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. During World War ll (1939-1945) she was living in Washington D.C. Returning to Canada at the end of the war she began her newspaper career as women's editor of the Timmins Daily Press but found the work rather boring and in 1946 she was in New York City, U.S.A. taking journalism classes at Columbia University. She was soon working with the Kemsley newspaper chain interviewing British and American celebrities. After the death of her father she returned to Canada working at the Toronto Star. She would become the first female reporter to sit in the city room of the Toronto Star. Her work took her across North America and Mexico chasing stories and interviewing such notables as Helen Keller who had had questions tapped on her hand by her companion. In 1955 she spent six weeks in the Soviet Union  and in 1956 she was with Grace Kelly at hew wedding in Monaco. She would cover election campaigns and royal tours. By 1970 she was working as a host for a CBC current affairs program in Ottawa. She went on to become a public relations director for the Canada Centennial Commission and the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. In 1972 she married Richard 'Dick' Kerrigan a Montreal businessman, becoming step mother to his two children.  and settled in Knowlton, Quebec. In 1977 she became guardian of her two nieces. Suggested by Diane Armstrong, Timmins, Ontario  Source: Female reporter made history in her industry by Fred Langan, The Globe and Mail, October 31, 2014, online (accessed 2014.)

Born March 15, 1881, Hamilton, Ontario. Died May 12, 1973, Hamilton, Ontario. As many young women of her era Mabel earned a teaching certificate and taught school. She published poems, short stories, and local histories of Hamilton, Ontario from 1011 through 1968. She penned a local history column in the Hamilton Spectator newspaper. Mabel was a member of the local Canadian Womens Press Club (CWPC). In 1923 she published the book, Before the White Man Came: Indian Legends and Stories and in 1938 she published The Story of Hamilton. In 1938 she was names as Hamilton's first Citizen of the year. Source: Find a Grave online (accessed 2021)

née Huctwith. Born January 15, 1945, Pretoria, Ontario. Died March 4, 2017, London, Ontario. Bonnie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario in 1967. In 1973 she married Ronald Burnard and this mother of three was a teacher and guest lecturer. The family lived in Saskatchewan for two decades before settling in London, Ontario where Bonnie served as a writer-in-residence at Western University.  She has toured South Africa, Sweden, Germany, and England. For her short stories, she has been awarded the Commonwealth Best First Book Award in 1989, Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award in 1994, the Marian Engel Award in 1994 and the Giller Award in1999. She would serve as a juror for the Giller Award for two years. Her last novel was Suddenly, published in 2009. Source: Obituary Westview Funeral Chapel March 4, 2017, online (accessed 2018)

Born May 11,1918, Scotland. Died April 20 1984, Bucklers Hard, Hampshire, England. Sheila attended schools in Scotland, France, and Germany. In 1941 she married Dr. David Burnford and the couple had three children and three beloved family pets that inspired Sheila to write books. In 1951 the family emigrated to live in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. As an author she is perhaps best known for her novel about animals called the Incredible Journey. The book won the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award and the American Library Association Aurianne Award  in 1963. Although Sheila wrote the book for adults it was marketed for children. The book became an immediate international best seller when  it became a Walt Disney movie. It is a great story about three friends, a bull terrier, a golden Labrador, and a Siamese cat who travel over 300 km through northern Ontario wilderness to return home.  It was remade in 1993 as Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. She also wrote about her summers in Nunavut on Baffin Island in the book, One Woman's Arctic published in 1973. Source: Womens History Month. Thunder Bay Ontario. Online (accessed 2025)

Born November 6, 1911. Died October 24, 2004. At 17 Dorothy was working at the Royal Museum as a second assistant draftsman. By 1939 she had become the museums 1st curator of textiles. She took training in Canada and studied positions in Europe to take on her new job. In 1944 she married Harold B. Burnham and the couple worked, together at times, on research together on Canadian and world textiles. In 1971 she published Keep Me Warm One Night: Early Hand Weaving in Eastern Canada. Dorothy would take leave from 1949 to 1973 to raise her family and operate a private weaving business Burnham&Burnham. She returned to working at the Royal Ontario Museum in 1973 publishing Cut My Cote about basic garment construction around the world. Retiring from the ROM in 1977 she published Warp & Weft: A Dictionary of Textile Terms in 1981. She continued to work in the filed with projects at the National Gallery of Canada, the Provincial Museum of Alberta and the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now the Canadian Museum of History). In 1984 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. Source: Cloth Cultures: Future Legacies of Dorothy K. Burnham., Royal Ontario Museum, Online  (accessed 2019)

Born 1947, Toronto, Ontario. Christina studied literature at the University of Toronto and went on to earn her Master's degree from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island in 1970. Her PhD in architecture history from Laval University, Quebec City in 1983. She married and is also known by her married name Southam. She has worked with Parks Canada and has written documents and books on Canadian architecture, heritage management and world heritage. In the 1990's she worked with Heritage Canada as Director of General of National Historic Sites and Secretary of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. In 1990 through 2008 she was appointed Head of the Canadian Delegation of the World Heritage Committee. In 2008 she received the Government of Canada's Outstanding Achievement Award which is the highest honor of excellence in the federal public service. In 2012 Cameron held the Canada Research Chair in Architectural Heritage at the University of Montreal's School of Architecture. She was also vice-president of the Canadian Commission of UNESCO.

née Grant. Born March 18, 1895, Williamstown, Ontario. Died May 31, 1963, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1915 Grace earned her teaching certificate and had a career in teaching. In 1919 she married Harvey Campbell and the couple raised three children together. She would also practice her avocation of writing. She had articles and short stories published in several Canadian magazines. Her novels, published mainly in the 1940's, included The Thorn-apple Tree (Toronto, 1942), which depicted pioneer life in Ontario. Fresh Wind Blowing (Toronto, 1947) which had a World War ll (1939-1945) setting in Europe and The Tower in the Town (Toronto, 1950) and her last work Highland Heritage was published in 1962. Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia (accessed 2021).

née Brooks. Born November 1, 1818, Hamilton Inlet, Labrador. Died April 1905, Mulligan River, Labrador. One of the children of an English settler and his Inuit wife, Lydia lived her entire life in her native Labrador. As an old woman, a journalist  , Arthur Charles Waghorn, sent her a journal and asked her to write down memories of Labrador life and ways. In 1894-1895 13 installments of her writings appeared in the St. John's Evening Herald in Newfoundland. Her reflections went beyond the personal and provided a first hand account to life and lore of her home territory. Lydia had married twice and was the mother of 13 children. It is thanks to her sharing her life memories and knowledge that information of nineteenth century Labrador has a written record.  Source: Inuit Literatures online (accessed 2025)

Born April 6,1940, near Athlone, Edmonton, Alberta. In Edmonton Maria assisted in founding a halfway house for women and a women's emergency shelter. She began writing in 1973 because she was upset that so few people knew about historic and contemporary Native Cultures. Her 1st book was a memoir, Halfbreed which is used in schools across Canada continuing to inspire indigenous women. She herself is fluent in 4 languages: Cree, Michif, Saulteaux and English. Her books have been translated into German, Chinese, French and Italian. Her 1st professionally produced play, Flight, was the 1st all Aboriginal theatre production in modern CanadaShe has written screenplays and books. In 1986 she was presented with the Dora Mavor Award and the Chalmers Award for Best New Play. .In 1992 she earned the Gabriel Dumont Institute Medal of Merit She has written and/or directed films by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), including My Partners My People, which aired on CTV for 3 years. She is coordinator and member of Sage Ensemble, a community theatre group for Aboriginal elders, and is actively associated with the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company in Saskatoon. Maria is also a volunteer, activist and advocate for Aboriginal rights and the rights of women. She sits as an Elder on the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Justice Commission and is a member of the Grandmothers for Justice Society. Her writings and her efforts for justice have been recognized in 1994 with the Saskatchewan Achievement Award and in 1996 with the National Aboriginal Achievement Award In 2006 she was honoured with the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. In 2008 she was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Over the years she has also served as Writer In Residence for the University of Alberta, Regina Public Library, Prince Albert Public Library, University of Saskatchewan and University of Winnipeg.

née Wilkins. Born 1901, London, England. Died November 23, 1986, Toronto, Ontario. As a toddler in 1904 Marjorie immigrated to Canada with her family settling in Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan. Marjorie began her love of writing and of history in high school. She originally worked as a freelance writer and became editor of Magazine Digest in Montreal and the women's editor of Canadian Magazine. In 1931 she married Angus Campbell. and continued her writing career. Her 1st book, The Soil is Not Enough was published. She would go on to write a total of 13 historical books by 1983. In 1959 she earned an Guggenheim Fellowship. She traveled throughout North America, England and Europe before publishing her book, No Compromise, in 1965. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia  (accessed 2008)

Born 1896, Delhi, Ontario. Died 1975, Toronto, Ontario. Marjorie Married William MacFarlane Campbell. After her children with grown Marjorie began to take writing seriously. In 1946 she published a collection of poetry with the Ryerson Press chapbook series called Merry-Go-Round which she dedicated to her son. In 1953 she published a biography, Holbrook of the San, which she followed in 1956 with the Hamilton General Hospital School of Nursing in 1956.  She enjoyed writing local history publishing A Mountain and a City: The Story of Hamilton in 1966.  In between her published books she wrote articles on religion, medicine and business. In 1976 she began writing about crime penning Torso, the Evelyn Dick Case in 1976. Two years later she published: A century of Crime: The Development of Crime Detection Methods in Canada. Some of her papers are maintained at the McMaster University Archives, Hamilton. In 2002 a made for television movie; Torso, The Evelyn Dick Story was based on her work. Source: Archives & Research Collections, McMaster University Online (accessed 2010)

SEE  - Social Activists

Born November 14, 1839, Stamford, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 31, 1926, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Janet, like many young women of her era,  became a teacher in 1856. She taught at school in Niagara. In  1859 she earned a first-class provincial normal school (teacher's college) certificate and taught in Brantford and Kingston. When her mother became ill and needed care Janet returned to her home.  She returned to teaching in the Peterborough area and then became principal in Niagara in 1872. In 1876 she was teaching at a new  local high school retiring from teaching in 1900. Janet loved history. She was a founder and tireless worker for the Niagara-on-the-Lake Historical Society serving as president, corresponding secretary, and editor of reports and publications. From 1892-1895 she served on the board of her church and was secretary for the Women's Missionary Society from 1887-1900. She also wrote articles published in the Canadian Methodist Magazine. She also served on the Board of the Niagara Public Library and even was temporary librarian at one time. In 1893 she was one of 20 Canadian women who attended the World Congress of Representative Women, Chicago, Illinois, U. S. A. As a regional historian she wrote several local church histories in the late 1890's. She was also a published poet and was the author of History of Niagara (Toronto, 1914). Source: D C B

SEE - Artists - Painters

Born September 1953, Don Mills, Ontario.  As a child she had wanted to be an actor but was much too shy. She entered the study of medicine at the University of Toronto but dropped out and headed for Israel where she lived and worked on a Kibbutz, a community farm. She married and the young couple moved to California and finally settled in Toronto. Back home she earned her BA at York University in 1975 and continued to worked to earn her Masters in education at the Ontario Institute of Education. In the 1980’s she was teaching Cree children in Northern Quebec. Her 1st novel In the Clear was about a youth with polio was published in 1984. She remarried and settled once again in Toronto and worked as a teacher-librarian. She has written numerous books, with Last Chance Boy winning the Book of the Year award from the Canadian Library Association and Under a Prairie Sky winning the Mr. Christie’s Book Award. She has also written for the series Our Canadian Girl. Source: Anne Laurel Carter official web site (accessed November 2012.)

née Moodie. Born June 9, 1833, Coburg, Canada West (now Ontario). Died May 1, 1913, York, Ontario. Agnes was the daughter of the famous early Canadian writer Susanna Moodie (1803-1885). When she was 17 she married Charles Thomas Fitzgibbon (1805-1865) and the couple had eight children. In 1863 she began to paint images of the wild flowers she saw. A few years later in 1868 she and her aunt, another early Canadian writer, Catherine Parr Traill (1802-1899) co published Canadian Wild Flowers. After the death of her husband Agnes became more serious about her watercolour painting since she now needed to support her family. She published more editions of Canadian Wild Flowers in 1869 and 1895.  Agnes prepared the lithographic stone and hand coloured the illustrations in all the books. In 1870 Agnes married for a second time to Brown Chamberlin (1827-1897) and the couple had one child. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers  Online. (accessed 2020)

Born March 29, 1954, England. After secondary school, Gillian worked at various places including a bank and restaurants. By the mid 1970’s she decided to study to become a teacher and by 1980 she had earned a degree in English and Education. In 1982 she married Henry Chan and the couple had one son. She taught for 10 years prior to immigrating to Canada and settling in Dundas, Ontario. In 1991 she took a course on writing short stories. Later she met the editor of Kids Can Press where she would publish her first book Golden Girl and Other Stories. More books soon followed in 1996, 2001, , 2002, 2004 and 2005. She then took some time from writing to care for her son until he went to school. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the War of 1812 she published I am Canada: a call to battle about the war. The book was the winner of the Ontario South Library Association White Pine Award and the Nautilus Award for Best Young Adult Book.

Lily has authored numerous books including Let’s stay to dine Chinese which has been published several times. In 1972 she did a Chinese cooking show on TV. Proceeds from her Chinese cooking book and A many –coloured South Africa: the diary of a non-person (Bonsecour Editions, 1982) have been donated to Northern Peoples of Canada, The Canadian Save the Children Fund and toward scholarships for indigenous peoples of Canada pursuing higher education. She is a member of P. E. N. International, The Canadian Authors Association and in 1985 she joined The Media Club of Canada. Lily also earned a renowned reputation as a fashion designer. In 1986 she was commissioned to design and create a Marian Papal Vestment for Pope John Paul ll. Source: Who’s Who in the Media Club of Canada 1991.

Born November 1, 1955, Terrace Bay, Ontario. Brenda graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. She was the first teacher of special education in the city of Ottawa. Brenda married Ted Chapman and the couple have two daughters. Brenda stayed home while her girls were young. She taught part time and took courses at Carleton University in honours English. In 1997 she left the teaching profession to became a communications advisor in the federal government. President of the Capitol Crime Writer’s in Ottawa she writes mystery stories for youth ten years and up with 14 books to her credit by 2017.  In 2006 she was the Canadian Book Center ‘Our Choice” novel for her book Hiding in Hawks Creek. In 2008 she earned the Audrey Jessup Award for Best Short Story ‘Evening the Score’. She has also earned two Gold Oak Awards for adult literacy and two crime Writers of Canada  Arthur Ellis Awards for novella and crime novel of the year. Source: Brenda Chapman web site, Online

née Foster. Born September 9, 1796, Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Died May 14, 1889, Montreal, Quebec. Harriet published her first works in Boston. In 1830 she married Edward Cheney (died 1845). The couple had four children and the family settled in Montreal. Harriet contributed poems and stories to the Literary Garland which was Canada's main literary journal. In 1846 she and her sister Eliza Lanesford Cushing (1794-1886), who was also now settled in Montreal, established t the Snow Drop, a monthly girls magazine. In all Harriet published five books. Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada, by William New, U of T Press 2002 (accessed 2003)

SEE - Journalists

Born February 3, 1866, Kingston, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 2, 1949, Toronto, Ontario. Educated at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Alice graduated in 1887. She became an active suffragist and was also know as a promoter of unions. In 1912 she was a founding member of the Toronto Equal Franchise League. She denounced the church and wartime attitudes with her unwavering belief in pacifism. She wrote her autobiography, The Stairway, published in Boston, Massachusetts in 1921. In 1930 she founded the Women's League of Nations  Association which provided a platform for peace and her own popular dramatic sketches. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online

née Fowler. Born March 31, 1837, London, England. Died July 2, 1927, New Liskeard, Ontario. Annie came to Canada as a young child with her family and settled on Amherst Island near Kingston, Ontario. She was educated at home by family and governoresses. Her father was a respected landscape artist. May 19, 1862 she married Richard Rothwell (died 1874) young Annie married a second time the the Reverend I. J. Christie and settled in the North Gower, Ontario in the spring of 1895. She was known for her short stories and her five novels which appeared first as magazine sequels. Recognition as a poet was earned when some of her poetry was turned into songs used in "The half breed rebellions". In 1896 she was a corresponding member of the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Toronto. 1888 through 1890 she was secretary of the Department of Literature of the Women's Auxiliary for the Diocese of Ontario in the Anglican Church. By 1904 the couple were living in Ottawa.  Source: Early Canadian Women Writers online (accesses 2024)

née MacDonald. Born October 12, 1934, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Died April 11, 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador. Joan earned her bachelor degree in 1957 from Acadia University in Nova Scotia. She worked for 20 years as a teacher in Alberta. In 1968 she published her first novel, Girl of the Rockies and won the Books in Canada, First Novel Award. At the University of Alberta, Edmonton, she was co-founder of the literary journal Dandelion in 1974. Joan, a founding member of the Writer's Guild of Alberta, also held the position of President. Joan moved back to the Maritimes settling in St. John's, Newfoundland. In 1988 she published The Victory of Geraldine Gull, her first book of adult fiction. This book was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award and it won The Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for fiction. In 1991 she earned the Marian Engle Award followed in 1995 with the Geoffrey Bilson Award for her work, The Dream Carvers. In 1999 she was awarded the Vicky Metcalf Award for literature for youth. In 2001 Joan served as a member of the jury for the renowned Giller Prize for Canadian literature. In 2003 her book The Word for Home earned her a second Geoffrey Bilson Award. In 2010 she was inducted as a member of the Order of Canada. In 2004 she was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award in fiction. In 2002 and again in 2005 she earened the Winterset Award.  In 2019 film maker Deanne Foley adapted the book, An Audience of Chairs. Source: Joan Clark, acclaimed Canadian Author, dead at 88 by William Ping, C B C April 16, 2023, Online (accessed 2023)

Born April 5, 1991, Quebec. In 2006, at 14, she worked to organize a feminist conference at he the Université du Québec, Montréal and she was a member of the Youth committee of the Quebec Council on the Status of Women. Léa suffers from anorexia nervosa. She worked on a petition that was tabled in the National Assembly of Quebec that led to the Quebec Charter for a Healthy and Diverse Body image. Léa speaks at schools each year as the official spokesperson for the charted. In 2011 she was named Personnalité par Excellence by Forces Avenir. She studied in Paris, France to earn her Bachelor's degree and went on to earn a Master's degree from Laval University in feminist studies. She worked with an internship in Burkina Faso as part of Oxfam. Her first book, La revanche des moches (English: The Revenge of the Uglies), published in 2014, examines the collective obsession with appearance and beauty. She and music artist, Mitsou, co-host a feminist documentary series and in 2017 she worked on her 1st feature-length documentary covering sexual harassment on the internet. (2019)

née Mrazik. Born November 19,1939, Montreal, Quebec. Died July 27, 1985, Montreal, Quebec.  An illustrator and author, Elizabeth was most concerned with myths and legends. She obtained several awards for her works including The Hans Christian Anderson Award in 1972, the Frances Howard-Gibbon Award in 1978 and the International Board on Books for Young People's Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1882. She was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1974. Elizabeth earned her Master's in Fine Art from Concordia University, Montreal in 1980. In 1985 the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award was created. Maybe you have seen her works The Loon’s Necklace or the The Enchanted Caribou which is an Inuit legend illustrated with shadow puppets? The Library and Archives Canada hold the original illustrations for eleven of her 13 books. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2019)

Born January 24, 1970, Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. Lynn attended Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario and worked at odd jobs in New Brunswick and began writing plays. In 1996 she was attending the University of British Columbia in Vancouver to earn her Master's degree. In 1998 she published her 1st book, Strange Heaven, which was nominated for a Governor General's Award. In 2000 her second book was a play the was a Globe and Mail Newspaper Best book. She earned the Air Canada Award for Best Writer under thirty and the Dartmouth Book and Writing Award for fiction. In 2013 she earned the Scotia Bank Giller Prize for her collection of short stories, Hellgoing. She has also written several plays and contributes stories to various Canadaian magazines and the Globe and Mail. In 2017 she was a juror for the Giller award. (2019)

Born May 29, 1922, Kamsack, Saskatchewan. Died California November 22, 2010, New York City, U.S.A.. One of her best friends in school was daughter of Japanese immigrants and Eleanor learned to enjoy origami and Japanese food. She married a U.S. Air Force officer but retained her independence. In 1949 she was the only person who applied to the Ottawa Journal newspaper to be a foreign correspondent to describe conditions in postwar Japan. Since there were no civilian ships nor planes to Japan at that time she sail on A Dutch freighter to take up her new job. She lived with a Japanese farm family in the middle of nowhere prior to moving to Hiroshima. The she was unprepared for the devastation she saw. In the 1950’s she became of mother to two sons, one born in Japan and the second in Alabama. She continued her writing while traveling to postings with her husband in California, The Philippines, and Taiwan. Returning to Hiroshima, Japan in 1963 she was enthralled and mesmerized with the beautiful Pease Park with the statue with a young girl at the top. The monies to build the park had been raised in part by selling the story of the youth on the statue, Sadako. Eventually Eleanor found the story of the youth Sadako and the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes was published in 1977. The book spawned web sites, lesson plans, and popularized origami. The story inspired works of music, theatre and ballet. As Eleanor entered her second marriage to Wymberly de Renne Coerr (1913-1996), the couple traveled as diplomats. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from American University and a Masters of Library Science from the University of Maryland. She went on to publish several dozen books for youth including biographies, easy to read adventure tales, and sensitive accounts of children from other cultures. The Toronto Public Library retains her papers as part of the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books. Sources: “Eleanor Coerr…”.School Library Journal November 30, 2010 ; Ewing-Weisz, Chris “Visits to Hiroshima prompted a book promoting peace” The Globe and Mail  October 21, 2011 Page R 9 . Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa (2021)

Born April 17, 1881, Akron, Ohio, U.S.A. Died 1963? Toronto, Ontario. All her education was taken in Akron where she attended the University of Akron. About1901 she married Orril Allen Cole (1874-1925) and the couple settled in Toronto and they had two children. It was during the 1920's under the name of Carol Cassidy Cole she  published three children's novels. After becoming a widow she returned to Akron, Ohio where she served as editor of the club page of the Akron Beacon-Journal. In 1929 she married Percival Manchee (1899-1970?). Two of her early novels were re-released in the 1940's just prior to the publication of her last book, Little Wooden Duck in 1945. Source: Early  Canadian  Women  Writers,  online (accessed 2022)

Born March 12, 1969, Calgary, Alberta. As a teen of 17 Karen was working in a Thai Village on a Rotary Club exchange scholarship beginning her love of travel. At 19 she was living in Spain and supporting herself by teaching English as a second language. In 1991 she was in France to learn French. She was off to Greece next and this country quickly became a Favourite place to revisit. In 1993 she was the youngest person to ever win a Governor General's Award in literature for her book Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal. Her 1st book of poetry; The Small Words in My Body won the Pat Lowther Award in 1990. She has been writer in residence at the University of New Brunswick and Okanagan College in Penticton, British Columbia. Since 1997 to 2018 she has produced 11 books of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction. She has enjoyed fundraising for PEN Canada and worked with Syrian newcomers to Canada. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online  (accessed 2019)

nee Cook. Born May 4, 1918, Islington, Ontario. Died July 14, 2018, Ottawa, Ontario. In 1940 she earned a scholarship to the University of Toronto (U of T) and earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree. She continued her studies with post graduate work for a Bachelor of Library Science from the U of T. In 1946 she used her grandmother’s name, Margaret Culverhouse, to publish a poem in the June 1946 issue of the Canadian Poetry Magazine. With that same name she published three poetry chapbooks. She worked at the Toronto Public Library for a year and then joined the Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division in the Meteorological Service for three years During World War ll (19139-1945). She also organized a library at the military base in Trenton, Ontario. After the war she served as the first Children’s Librarian at the Sudbury Public Library. She Married Robb John Waddell (1911-1988) on September 9, 1949. In 1952 the couple settled in Scarborough, (now part of greater Toronto) and had two children. Using the Pen name Lyn Cook, her first book, Bells on Finland Street, was published in 1950. Lyn became one of the first writers for children to be published after the war. Her books, written for the youth market, took place in Canadian places and often told the story of the Canadian multicultural scene. It has been said that she literarily developed the prototype of the hyphenated Canadian ( i.e. Finnish-Canadian) While in Sudbury she developed a ½ hour C B C radio show A Doorway to Fairland and was a regular asset to C B C Radio in the 1940’s and 1950’s with the show also being picked up in the U.S.A. She created the Radio show Sounds Fun and wrote plots for the Uncle Chichimus puppet show. Moving to Scarborough, Ontario, in the 1960 she told stories at the Bendale Branch of the Scarborough Public Library. In 1965 she wrote the Brownie’s Handbook for Girl Guides of Canada. As a Canadian Centennial project in 1967 she adapted her book Samantha’s Secret Room for National School telecast as a Television series. Among the many awards accumulated by her more than 20 books was the 1978 Vicky Metcalf Award for contribution to Children’s Literature. Sources: “Lyn Cook” by Ruth Maydan in Profiles, Canadian Library Association, 1971; Creating the National Mosaic. Multiculturalism in Canadian Children’s Literature 1950-1994 by Miriam Verena Rihter.

née Chouinard. Born September 6, 1927, Québec City, Quebec. Died June 24, 1976, Québec City, Quebec. Monique attended the University of Toronto in 1946 and Université Laval in 1948 earning her BA in 1950. She would return to Laval for additional studies in 1969 and 1974. Married Monique married Bernard Corriveau and became the mother of 10 children. She wrote and dedicated a book for young readers to each of her children. More of her books were published posthumously in 1980 and 1985. In 1958 and again in 1966 she won the Prix de l’A.C.E.L.F.( Association canadienne des éducateurs de langue française.) In 1966 she earned the Prix Marie Rollet, Médaille de l’Association de bibliothèquaires du Canada and from the same association in 1976 Prix Alvine-Bélisle. In 1967 she received the Canadian Centennial Commission Award/Prix de la Commission du centenaire du Canada. In 1971 she was presented with the Prix Michelle-Le Normand of the Société des écrivains canadiens.  The library of Eglise Saint Denys-du-plateau is named in her honour as is the Public Library in Sainte Foy Québec. Source: “Monique Corriveau”: Profiles, Canadian Library Association, 1971.

née Bruce. Born August 25, 1901, Stouffville, Ontario. Died March 6, 1996, Brooklin, Ontario. Luella was a teacher in a rural Ontario School from 1920-21. In 1924-1926 she attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto. In 1926 she married Donald Creighton (1902-1977). She enjoyed writing novels and romances and was well known for her work High Bright Buggy Wheels (McClelland & Stewart, 1951) which drew from Mennonite history in the Markham area of Ontario. 6 additional works followed each drawing on settings in Canadian History. She was supported in her writing by her husband, Donald Creighton,(1902-1979) a well known and respected Canadian Historian who died in 1979. Source: Canadian Women of Note (Toronto, Canadian Women’s Press Club/York University, 1994) no. 193 page 201.

Born September 29, 1930, Ameliasburg, Ontario. Constance attended Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario on writing scholarships for her Bachelor of Arts and completed graduated studies at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, U.S.A. She then studied for her diploma in education from the University of Toronto in 1955. She married the Reverend F. Reginald Brown and the couple had two daughters. Constance resumed her teaching career upon the death of her husband. She remarried a second time to Albert W. Cook. She taught English and Latin for 30 years in high schools throughout Ontario. She also was a teacher of developmental reading and English as a second language. When she retired for teaching she finally had time to devote to her writing. She enjoys writing novels with Canadian historical settings for young readers. Many of her stories are based on her own family history. This retired teacher and grandmother is perhaps best known by her pen name: Connie Brummel Crook. She has written Laura's Choice (1993), Nellie L (1994) and Meyers Creek (1995) to name a few of her works. She has earned the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and the Canadian Children’s Book Center Choice designation in 1995. In 1998 she earned the Storytelling World Award Honours Title for Tellable Stories for Ages 13-17 and the Canadian Children’s Book Center Choice designation for Maple Moon, her 1st child’s picture book. On July 15, 2000, Connie was one of the honourable inductees for the year into Peterborough’s Pathway of Fame.  In 2002 she earned the Word Guild Novel Award for The Hungry Year and in 2004 was co-recipient of the Word Guild Award for The Perilous Year. Some of her writings have been translated into Braille and have been adapted as sound recordings. On June 11, 2008, Connie received the Leslie K. Tarr Award for Outstanding Career Achievement. Source: Connie Brummel Cook website Online (accessed September 2012)

née Foster. Born October 19, 1794, Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Died May 4, 1886, Montreal, Quebec. Eliza published two early novels in Boston. In 1828 she married Canadian Dr. Frederick Cushing. In 1833 she and her husband settled in Montreal. Using the nom-de-plume 'E. L/ C. she and her sister Harriet Vaughan Cheney (1796-1889), who also lived in Montreal published  regularly had stories and poems published in the Literary Garland, Canada's top literary magazine of the day. Some of her works continued to be published in the U.S.A. with plays and short stories being published in Godey's Lady Book, out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both widowed the two sisters founded Snow Drop, a monthly girl's Magazine in 1847. Eliza also became editor of the Literary Garland. Source: Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada (Toronto, U of T Press, 2002)

née Armitage. Born  December 9, 1865, Birkkby, England. Died January 12, 1938, Vancouver, British Columbia. Since early child hood she had suffered from poor eyesight and poor hearing. Annie  would immigrate to Canada with her husband William Dalton, whom she had married in 1891, in 1904. She began publishing her works of verse in 1910 and published some 8 volumes through to 1935. She was well known and respected as a novelist in her own era spanning some thirty years. She was inducted into the Order of the British Empire as the only woman poet then included. Source: Annie Charlotte Dalton by Wanda Campbell, Canadian Poetry online (accessed 2019)

née Marchand. Born December 5, 1861, Saint-Jean, Lower Canada (now Quebec). Died March 2, 1925, Montreal, Quebec. Joséphine was educated  in a convent and was totally bilingual. She began writing in 1879 and had short stories published in Le Franco-Canadien (her father's publication), La Patrie, and L'Opinion publique. Like many early women writers she would use a pen name to sigh her writing. She was known as 'Josette'. A strong feminist she championed the role of women in Quebec society. January 12, 1886 she married Raoul Dandurand (1861-1942), a future senator. The couple had one daughter. In 1888 she published a play, Quand on s'aime, on se marie, which was followed the next year by Contes de Noel, a collection of short stories. In 1892 she founded Le coin de feu, a monthly magazine, which was the first women's literary review in Canada. She was also a strong orator. Closing her publication in 1896 she continued to write for other Montreal publications. In 1898 she founded Oeuvre de livres gratuits which provided literary tools for rural teaches. That same year she became the first Canadian woman to become an Officer of the French Academy in France. In 1900 she was a government appointed commissioner to the famous Paris Exhibition in France. IN 1900 in her work, Two Systems of Art, she proposed that the government provide finding for the arts. This was a full 50 years before the Canada Council of the Arts. In 1900 she helped to found the women's section of the Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montreal. She served as vice president of the provincial National Council of Women in 1912-13 and again in 1917-1919 and she also served on the local executive of the organization. Source: D C B

née Clouthier. Born April 6, 1919*, Montreal, Quebec. October 29, 2016, Quebec. Paule took social services courses at Soeur du bonne conseil. She began working at C K A C Radio station and it was not long until she was editing radio broadcasts. In 1944 she married André Daveluy (1911-2004) and the couple would have six children. In 1957 she wrote a collection of short stories for youth readers called Les Guinoes and continued to write in her beloved French language for young teens. In 1958 she earned the Concours Littéaire from the Association canadienne des éducateurs de langue français. In 1972 she received the Prix Michelle-Le Normand of the Société des écrivains canadiens. In 1980 Her works were recognized with a certificate of honor from L ‘Union international pour les livres de jeunesse (International Union for youth books) In 1985 she received the Prix Claude-Aubrey and in 1987 Prix Fleury Mesplet pour l’esemble de son oeuvre de traduction. In 1999 she was inducted into the Order of Quebec/Ordre national du Québec. * Birthrate is sometime recorded as April 5. Source: Paule Clouthier by Marguerite Polnicky in Profiles (Canadian Library Association, 1971)

Born May 18, 1897, Montreal, Quebec. Died September 10, 1966, Cedar Grove, Ontario. Blodwen was educated in a convent in Longueuil, Quebec. After her graduation she worked as a reporter in Fort William (now Thunder Bay). By 1921 she was living in Toronto writing about the famous Group of Seven artists. She would become the biographer of Tom Thompson (1887-1917  a member of the Group of Seven. She fell in love with the married Dr. Frederick Banting (1891-1941) who refused to marry her even after becoming a widower. In 1925 and again in 1934 she visited England. In 1930 she published Paddle and Palette. She would continue to earn her living as a freelance writer and historical researcher and penned an number of books for children. She is known for her many books of travel and history which showed off picturesque Quebec and Ontario locations. She contributed to numerous periodicals including, The Beacon, the Canadian Forum, Canadian Magazine, Chatelaine, Maclean's and Saturday Night.  During the Second World War (1939-1945) she became an advocate for scientific humanism and lived in the U.S.A. but soon returned to live in Ontario researching Canadian Mennonites contributing articles Mennonite Life magazine. Source: Early  Canadian  Women Writers online (accessed 2022)

née Scott. Born December 12, 1863, Quebec City, Canada East (now Quebec). Died November 19, 1927, Paris, France. Mary used two successful pen names as a journalist, Amaryllis and the Marchioness. She wrote at the turn of the 1900 for Saturday Night magazine and she turned "gossip " to pure entertainment and became the toast of the town of Ottawa newspapers and kept readers clamouring for more "intel". She was a social advocate for welfare children and aboriginals with a keen interest in feminism, all the signs of "the new woman". She married the well to do William P. Davis an gave up her daily journalism, writing only the occasional articles for the Women's Historical Society. After the death of her husband in 1916, she and her two daughters were dependant on family for support and eventually moved to France for less expensive life style. From France she contributed a scattering of writings for the Montréal Star.  Source: D C B

Born 1879, Lambton, County, Ontario. Died September 3, 1932. Mary joined the workforce at the Toronto Evening Telegram in 1901 as the paper’s 1st female reporter. She worked as a columnist for the women’s pages as well as serving as secretary for the editor. In 1904 Mary was one of the 16 women who travelled by train to cover the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. On the return train trip the women formed the Canadian Women’s Press Club which would endure for 100 years. Mary was not credited with a byline for her reports from the World’s Fair. In 1908 she married reporter and historian Charles Henry Jeremiah (Jerry) Snider (1897-1971). In 1912, posing as a nurse and slipping through security lines, Mary reported meeting the ship Carpathia’ which brought survivors of the fateful Titanic to New York City, U.S. A. This time she was credited with her own byline! In 1919 she covered the Winnipeg General Strike and filed copies of her stories to the Telegram from Minnesota to ensure the arrival uninterrupted by Canadian telegraphers. During World War l (1914-1918) she was in Charge of women working at a Toronto munitions Plant. Mary continued writing for the Toronto Telegram until her death. Sources: Linda Kay. The Sweet Sixteen. (McGill-Queens University Press, 2012) : Marjory Lang. Women who made the news. McGill Queen’s University Press, 1999.; Find a Grave online

née Maisie Louise Roche. Born January 15, 1897, Newmarket, Ontario. Died July 12, 1961, Toronto, Ontario. Mazo (pronounced may'zo) adopted the name De la Roche stating that it came from her French heritage. She wrote her first short story when she was just nine years old. She studied at the Metropolitan School of Music and while studying at the Ontario College of Art in 1902 her first published short story appeared in Munsey's Magazine. In 1903 she sadly suffered a mental breakdown and suffered several years of depression abandoning her writing. Eventually she would go on to write for the Atlantic Monthly, the Canadian Magazine, and the Women's Home Companion. After the death of her mother in 1920 her writing career began in earnest.  In 1923 she would publish her first novel, Explorers of the Dawn, followed in 1925 with an one act play. In 1927 she won a $10,000.00 award for her third novel Jalna. This novel would be the first of 16 novels about the Whiteoak family and became one of the most popular series of books in her time. Her rise to success caused her to have another breakdown in 1928. She and her cousin Caroline Clement  took an extended trip to Europe in 1929. She and Caroline adopted two British orphans in 1931 but this did not deter her writing and publishing almost one book a year. In 1935 R K O Radio Pictures based a film on Jalna. In 1954-55 the novels were adopted for television by the British Broadcasting Corporation. In 1957 Ringing the Changes: An Autobiography was published. Her last book, Morning at Jalna, was published in 1960. Shortly after her death Caroline carried out Mazo's wishes and burned her personal diaries. There was a renewed interest when the CBC TV produced a Jalna television series in 1972. Mazo was the subject of a National Film Board co-production, The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche in 2012. Her adopted daughter claims that the relationship of the cousins was totally platonic. The Jalna series had 92 foreign editions. A small park in Clarkson, Ontario is named Whiteoakes in honour of the series and so is a local elementary school  Local streets have names such as Mazo Crescent, Jalna Ave., Roche Court and Whiteoaks Ave. Her home in Toronto serves as thThe Zoroastrian Society of Ontario community centre and is a City of Toronto Heritage Property. London Ontario boasts of a White Oaks subdivision with streets and character names coming from the book series. Newmarket, Ontario named a French Imersion public School in her honour in 1990.Source: Canadian Encyclopedia Online ; Britannica, Online

née Ryder. Born July 22, 1927, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died January 2, 2016, New Brunswick. As a young member of Girl Guides she was the first in the province to earn her Gold Cord. In 1948 she married John R. Dearborn. and the couple had four children. Dorothy began writing as a youth and published a collection of poems in 1950. She is perhaps the first city editor for a newspaper in Canada when she worked at the Saint John Times Globe. She went on to write and edit for the Saint John’s Telegraph – Journal and the Evening Times-Globe. She also edited the King’s County Record and the Saint John Citizen. As a freelance journalist she has contributed articles to numerous publications including the Atlantic Advocate and the Financial Post. She served as the host of a panel TV show called Check and Double Check for C S J H television. She also has a keen interest in politics which has seen her run twice for a federal seat in Parliament from Fundy Royal Riding and she also ran for a seat in the provincial legislature. Although unsuccessful in her political aspirations she is a successful author having published numerous books devoted to local ghost stories, murders and UFO experiences. Her works are both fiction and nonfiction. She also enjoys writing for youth. She has worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association to establish the first school for mentally challenged in Saint John.  Source. Fairley, Amanda. ‘Dorothy Dearborn’ in the New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia. Online (accessed September 2014); Obituary, Reid's Funeral Home, Online (accessed 2016)

History Researcher

Born September 4, 1864, Morrisburg, Canada West (now Ontario). Died June 17, 1959, Toronto, Ontario. As a young woman in her early 2-'s Florence traveled Europe and America to study literature and art.  At 30 she entered Victoria College, University of Toronto (U of T). After university she became a teacher at the Presbyterian Ladies College. In the early 1900's she joined the Women's Art Association and in 1912 wrote an historical sketch of the group. She was also recording secretary for the Toronto Women's Liberal Club. Wishing to write a history of the world which would highlight the role of women she dove into research. By February 1818 the manuscript of The Web of the World's Romance was finished. She submitted her manuscript to Macmillan publishers but after a year it was rejected.  When she saw the Outline of History by H. G. Wells she felt it had a strong similarity to her own research. In 1928 Florence began a plagiarism suit against H. G. Wells and Macmillan. When her case was dismissed she appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Ontario where she appeared on her own behalf.  The case was once again dismissed.  She then took her case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, England.  in the fall of 1932. The case was dismissed Research in 2001 by A. B. McKillop believed that the work was plagiarized. It was generally felt that Florence had been discriminated against in the courts but in reality the case was weak and the same results would have happened no matter who appealed the case. Source: Find a Grave online

Born 1965, Deep River, Ontario. Kirsten's writings have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She has produced two novels up to 2005, Water Wings (Toronto, 2001) and The Perpetual Ending (Toronto, 2003). She currently lives in Toronto but frequently returns to her beloved Ottawa Valley to re-energize.

Born September 29, 1946. This writer drew from her own experiences publishing stories of pilgrimages. She has made walking pilgrimages in France, Spain, Italy and six other countries. All her walking efforts have raised over 200,000 dollars for medical research. She has been the Honourary Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. In 1993 she received the Confederation Medal to honour her achievements.

Born July 22, 1942, Winnipeg Manitoba.  Kady is an illustrator and author of books who took the advice of her first editor who told her to have fun! To this day she has 'fun' with her profession. She does take her work very seriously and puts in many hours labouring over each illustration. In 1998 her book, A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes won three top awards including the Governor General's Award.

Born Kehewin First Nation, Alberta. Madeleine studied nursing at Edmonton General Hospital graduating in 1968. She returned to studies at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta for a Bachelor in Nursing in 1982 as one of the 1st Indigenous women to graduated nursing at university. In 1993 she earned her Master’s degree in international affairs at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. In 1983 she was a special advisor for the Canadian Minister of Health and Welfare. By 1985 she became directory of the Indian and Inuit Health Careers Programme. From 1989-1993 she served as director of the Centre for Aboriginal Education, Research, and Culture, Carleton University. She has served as president of the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada and was a member of the National Forum on Health and Vice-Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada board of directors. She has established her own company, Dion Stout Reflections Inc. and speaks throughout North American and Europe on Indigenous health, reconciliation and healing. She has also established herself as a report writer.  She has received the Assiniwkimaik Award from the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, the University of Lethbridge Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Centennial Award from the Canadian Nurses Association in 2008. In 2015 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada 

Born April 16, 1939, St. John's, Newfoundland. This writer, biographer and educator studied at Memorial University in Newfoundland and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Djwa settled to a position of Professor of English at Simon Fraser University in 1980. She had published numerous articles, edited several works, including books of poetry by Canadian poet, E. J. Pratt and has written several biographies of Canadian authors. She is currently working on a biography of a Victorian poet, novelist and artist P. M. Page.

SEE - Academics & Librarians

Born April 16, 1858, Montreal, Quebec. Died October 9, 1923. She visited England and in 1900 decided to make it her permanent residence. However, as a novelist and religious writer she set the background for 4 of her novels in her home country of Canada. Her works are carefully structured. She used humor and lively dialog to describe her unusual plots and twists.

Ann Douglas is an award-winning journalist and the author of some 30 books, many of which have been about baby and child care including: The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, The Mother of All Toddler Books, The Mother of All Parenting Books. She also has an interest in Canadian women’s history and has written Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamma’s to help others learn more of our women’s heritage.  A parent, educator, lecturer, and mother of four, Ann is currently serving as the honorary Chair of the National Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies 9-Month Club and as a member of the expert advisory group for Invest in Kids.  She recently served as national spokesperson for Sunlight's National Play Day Program and has been featured on a Cheerios cereal box as part of a special "Read the Box" campaign of 2002 and 2005. As past president of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada (P W A C) and  a teacher of  writing courses through Trent University she mentors emerging and established authors. (2004)

née Hunter. Born February 12, 1934, Alton, Illinois, U.S.A.  Her Canadian parents moved back to Canada where Mary Alice grew up and graduated from the University of Toronto. While studying she spent much of her time at The Varsity newspaper. In 1959 she married and returned to the U.S.A. to live. It was here that she worked producing films, plays and book reviews. With her young family of two young daughters she moved to Kingston, Ontario, Canada where she still resided today. She has written over a dozen books for young Canadian readers and created the Northern Lights series and the Kids Canada Series. She has won awards from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and Ontario Heritage, the Laidlaw Foundation, and the Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" awards for various books.  Source: Queen's Univeraity

Born 1984, Cochrane, Ontario. Having been born with cameral Palsy and living life from a wheel chair has never held Lyne back from doing what she always wanted to do.  It seems Lyne was destined to become a writer. At an early age she was writing short stories, poems, and essays, In September 1998 she told her personal story and her first short story to the local newspaper the Cochrane Times Post.  At 18 in 2002 Lyne moved with her family to Goderich, Ontario. She penned her 1st novel in 2013: A Disabled Heart. Having read many books about disabled people Lyne found that the writers focused on the negative aspects of disabled life or about people with disabilities as the result of an accident. Disabilities from birth were virtually never the focus for writers. Her 1st novel is about a young woman who has cerebral palsy and her desire to live a life as herself like others do. Lyne is now working on additional writings.

Born Meaford, Ontario. Died March 31, 1935. She would become a Kindergarten teacher in Toronto in 1888 and showed her love of teaching by remaining in the position for some 25 years. During her retirement from teaching she would write A Cargo of Stories for Children published in Toronto in 1931).

Born September 27, 1894, St. John's, Newfoundland. Died March 22, 1968, Newfoundland. In 1911 she travelled with her family to England to attend a wedding of an aunt. While there Margaret attended elocution and drama courses at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. With the on slot of World War 1 she returned to Canada. During the war she worked with the Women’s Patriotic Association while her 3 brothers served overseas. During this time she wrote a short story : Mother Boggan about islander’s war efforts. In the 1920’s she was a member of the Women’s Franchise League working towards gaining voting rights for women which were granted in March 1925 to women over 25 years of age. During World War ll she worked with the Women’s Patriotic League and the St John’s Ambulance Corp. Later she did public relations work for the Red Cross writing for newspapers and providing radio interviews. In 1952 she was in England to cover the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth ll. She completed 4 novels and additional short stories all set in Newfoundland. By 1959 Parkinson’s Disease prevented her from continuing to write. Near the entrance to the Memorial University Library and at her former home in St. John’s historic plaques have been erected. In 2007 she was declared a National Historic Person. Source: Margaret Iris Duley Backgrounder. Parks Canada online. (accessed July 2014)

Born April 2, 1946, Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  Died November 2, 1982, Paris, France. Carol graduated from Lake Erie College, Painesville, Ohio, U.S.A. She then studied and graduated from McGill University, Montreal. She married writer Francois Hebert and the couple had one son. The family lived in Montreal. In the 1970's Carol became divorced and lived in Paris, France, where she became the partner of Julio Contazar whom she married in 1981. The couple often traveled to Nicaragua, Chile, and Poland. While in France she began translating books into English and writing books herself. She published La Solitude inachevée in 1976.  She followed with the novel, Melanie dans le miroir in 1980. In 1983 she co-wrote a book with Julio Contazarin 1983 with the translation The Autonauts of the Cosmoroute coming out in 2007. (2022)

Born September 15, 1869, Toronto, Ontario. Died December 5, 1900, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.  Eva suffered from poor health even as a child. She attended Toronto Normal School (teacher's college0 shew she earned the Gold Medal. In 1891 she attended the University of Toronto (U of T), but due to ill health she graduated only in 1896. In 1898 she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and moved to Colorado to be with her sister Mary Ann. Eva's written work Elise Le Beau: a dramatic idyll and lyrics and sonnets was published in Toronto in 1921 by her sister Laura B.  Durand.  Source: Find a Grave, Online (accessed 2005)

née Collins. Born 1845?, Ireland.  Died after January 20, 1934. Charlotte's father was an officer with the British Army and the family moved with him to various postings including several in India.  Charlotte joined her successful businessman brother in New York, U.S.A. In 1887 she became the second wife of  the Canadian painter Charles Wyatt Eaton (1849-1896) and the couple had two children while living in Montreal, Quebec. Financially independent as a widow she began writing. She published a memoir of her husband, Sketch of the Life of Wyatt Eaton. She then penned a volume of verse, Desire and had several works of poems published in magazines.. She was acquainted with the famous author Robert Louis Stevenson and wrote three books of memoirs about him. She then collaborated with Harriet Bartnett and wrote a roman novel in 1917, The Enchanted Sea-gull. Later in life she retreated to a convent. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, online

Born March 15, 1865, Macclesfield, England. Died April 7, 1914, Montreal, Quebec. Edith was the daughter of a English father and a Chinese mother. While she could pass a white child she often faced discrimination while growing up. While she was still a toddler her family returned to England. By 1872 the family was settled in Montreal. Edith and her younger sister Winnifred (1875-1954) were  educated at home. Family finances caused Edith to go to work to help support the family rather than be in school. At 18 she was a typesetter at the Montreal Star newspaper. She enjoyed writing and her early poetry and stores were published in the Dominion Illustrated magazine.  n the early 1890's she published unsigned articles about the local Chinese community in the Montreal Star and the Daily Witness. She supplemented her writing income by working as a stenographer and legal secretary when she lived what is now Thunder Bay in northern Ontario. By the mid 1890's she was publishing under her Chinese pen name 'Sui Sin Far' in Kingston, Jamaica. She soon relocated to the northwest coast of America prior to settling in Boston, Massachusetts on the east coast of America. She asserted her Chinese heritage by writing articles on lives of Chinese women in English America. This was the era when the United States government banned Chinese immigration. In 1912 she she published a collection of her short stories in Mrs. Spring Fragrance. Because of her Chinese ancestry she has been cited as one of the first Chinese writers in North America. Her biography was written by Annette White-Parks, Sui Sin Far/Edith Maude Eaton: A Literary Biography was published in 1995 and this was followed with additional studies by Mary Chapman called Becoming Sui Sin Far: Early Fiction, Journalism and Travel Writing by Edith Maude Eaton. Source D C B  

Onoto Watanna

Born August 21, 1875, Montreal, Quebec. Died April 8, 1954, Butte, Montana, U.S.A.. Winnifred was the 8th child of 14 children of a British silk merchant and a Chinese mother, Grace, who had lived with missionaries. Both she and her older sister, Edith (1865-1914) would take to the art of writing. Winnifred was a writer in many arenas from newspaper articles, magazines and journals, short stories, successful novels ( some of which became plays and movies) cookbooks, and movie scripts. She was 14 when she had her first newspaper article published. At seventeen she left home to wander to Jamaica and New York City in the U.S.A. Although she was of Chinese she choose a Japanese pen name Onoto Watanna since Japanese novels were more popular. She married Bernard Babcock but the marriage was short lived. In 1917 she married Frances (Frank) Fournier Reeve and moved to settle to a ranch in Calgary, Alberta, for a couple of years before she once again had wanderlust ending up in Hollywood, California, U.S.A. and New York once again. Between 1899 and 1925 she would publish over a dozen works of fiction. In 1932 she returned to her husband in Calgary to basically settle. She took an interest and founded the Little Theatre. She and her sister are often considered the first known writers of Asian descent to be published in America. Her first novel, Mrs. Nomé of Japan was published in Chicago in 1899 and was republished in 1999. Her granddaughter Diane Birchall wrote Onoto Watanna, a biography in 2001. The sisters and their work continue to be a popular study with several books written about them and their literary works. Source: the Canadian Encyclopedia, online; Early Canadian Women Writers, online (2024)

Born March 18, 1925, Bromley, England. Died August 16, 2022, Oakville, Ontario. After attending school in Wales, England, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, Dorothy graduated from the University of Toronto. In 1968, while working as a reporter, she took her first Arctic trip to Cape Dorset. A second trip resulted in a book with drawings and prints of the graphic artist Pitseolak Ashoona. She traveled to the far north over and over conducting interviews of the people resulting in more books and films and tapes of oral history. Many of her works were published in English and Inuktitut, the Inuit native language. . Her visits and works have done much to preserve the history of the Inuit people. One of her interviews in Nova Scotia provided fodder for her book Genius at Work: Images of Alexander Graham Bell published in 1982. She was appointed to the Order of Canada on October 21, 1999. Source: Gifted author gathered and preserved Inuit oral history, Globe and Mail, Online (accessed 2022)

Born 1978, Calgary, Alberta. She studied creative writing at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and went on to earn a Master's Degree from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. In 2004 she published her 1st novel The Second Life of Samuel Tyne which won the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. For a time she was the Writer-in-residence in Stuttgart, Germany prior to publishing her 2nd novel Half-Blood Blues. This book won the Walter Scott Award for Historical Fiction and the Anisfield-Wolf Book award as well as the prestigious Giller Prize. In 2014 Esi published her 1st non-fiction book, Dreaming of Elsewhere; Observations on Home. This was followed with her being Writer-in-residence in 2016 at Athabasca University, Edmonton, Alberta. In 2018 she third novel Washington Black garnered her a second Giller Prize. Esi is Esi married Steven Price and the couple have two children. (2019)

Born August 7, 1960, Cochrane, Ontario.  A self declared loner, Deborah started writing at 10 or 11 years old.  Her writings have won the Ruth Swartz Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize,  the University of California’s Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Peace Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. In 1997 she travelled to Pakistan to interview refugees at an Afghan refugee camp. Through her books she give western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in today’s developing countries. As a teen in high school she joined the peace movement and is also a long time feminist. A philanthropist, she pledged the earnings from her Breadwinner Trilogy, published around the world in seventeen languages, more two million dollars, to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization for Afghan girls in refugee camps in Pakistan. Book proceeds have also been shared with UNICEF. In 2000 she published Looking for X which follows a young girl in her day-to-day life in a poor area of Toronto. The Breadwinner, published in 2001 was made into a movie in 2017 and  book earned the Governor General's Literary Award. In 2006 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario.  In December 2016 Deborah was named a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2020 she published The Greats with a storyline set in Guyana.

Born May 19,1952, Vancouver, British Columbia. She wrote novels when she was 12 years old! She too time out to go to school and become a librarian but at 30 found herself on leave from her job to write books again. By 2001 she had published some 10 books. Pic-Up Sticks was the 1991 winner of the Governor Genera's Award. Out of the Blue, 1994 won Mr. Christie's Book Award. She loves to write in her little office in the attic of her house.

Born September 20, 1886, Whitby, Ontario. Died April 29, 1958, Ottawa, Ontario. Bea was a teacher at St. Margaret's in Toronto. She wrote boarding school stories in 1920's and published The Girls of Miss Cleveland's. During World War 1 she lectured in French at the Trinity College, University of Toronto. In 1920 she married widower Major Edward James Ashton (1879-1965) and became step-mother to three children. The couple also had two additional children together. During the second world war she served as chairman of the peace time relief work for the Canadian Red Cross and went on to served as vice-president of the organization. Living in Ottawa she was involved with the Ottawa Little Theatre and the Ottawa Historical Society. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers  (accessed 2021)

née Passmore. Born May 24, 1933, Toronto, Ontario. Died February 16, 1985, Toronto, Ontario. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Language Studies from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, in 1955. She then moved to Montreal to earn her Master’s degree from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. She taught at McGill for a short while and then at the University of Montana in the U.S.A. In 1960/61 she earned a Rotary Foundation Scholarship to the Université d’Aix-Marseille, France. In 1962 she married radio producer Howard Engle and the couple raised twins until the marriage ended in divorce in 1975. Her first novel, No Clouds of Glory, appeared in 1968. In 1973 she was the first chair of the Writer’s Union of Canada. In 1976 she won the Governor General’s Award in Literature for her work, Bear. She served as writer in residence a the University of Alberta in 1977 and at the University of Toronto from 1980-1982. In 1981she won the City of Toronto Book Award for Lunatic Villas. In 1982 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. In 1984 she was the  Toronto Y W C A Woman of Distinction. The Marion Engle Award is presented annually in her honour to a woman writer in mid-career. She was an avid journal keeper and in 1999 her journals were published as Marion Engel’s Notebook. Marion Engel Park is located in Toronto. Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia. Online (accessed February 2014) 

Born January 18, 1913, Toronto, Ontario. Died November 25, 1965, Montreal, Quebec. Gwethalyn dropped out of college and eloped with John McNaught. Two years later they were divorced and she settled in Westmount and area of Montreal. She would marry David Yalden-Thomson but this marriage also ended in divorce. As an author would use only her first two names. Her 1945 novel Earth and High Heaven, was the first Canadian novel to top the American bestseller list. This same novel would win a Governor Generals Award, would sell for movie rights (alas it was never to be a movie) and would be translated into Braille and 18 different languages! She continued to write but always in the shadow that she could never do as well with another novel. She wrote articles on immigration, anti-Semitism, and women’s issues. Later in her career, she successfully turned her talents to writing TV Scripts. Barbara Meadowcroft wrote the  biography, Gwethalyn Graham: a Liberated Woman in a Conventional Age, in 2008. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, online (accessed 2021)

Born  March 15, 1888, Montreal Quebec. Died ????.  Constance studied art and music in London, England, with private lessons. She enjoyed writing short stories and stories in serial format for popular magazines. She would, during her career that stretched from the early 1930's through to the 1970's, produce some 125 romance novels both under her own name and the nom de plume of Mairi O'Nair. She was not as lucky finding a life long romance as some of her book hero were. She never married although she was engaged three times. One of her suitors was killed, a second died from old war wounds, and a third died of heart failure. She eventually adopted three daughters.

Born 1880. Died 1925. Queenie lived in the U.S.A. for several years before returning to Canada to settle in Quebec along the St. Lawrence River. She wrote My French Canadian Neighbours and Other Sketches, published in 1916,as she learned about the people of the area through her servants stories. The book was republished in 2018. Source: Oxford Companion to Canadian History and Literature, Norah Story, 1967; A Feminine Gaze: A Canadian Compendium of Non-Fiction Women Authors...online (accessed 2021)

Born May 11, 1863, Bond Head, Ontario. Died August 23, 1938, Toronto, Ontario.  Dora, an Anglican,  wrote a weekly religious column called Hope's Quiet House in the Farmer's Advocate and Home Magazine from about 1897 through to 1938. . She also contributed a children's column. She was also know for her poetry, and her short stories for Children.  Her materials were collected and published in the books, The Vision of His Face, published in 1909, Star-Led to the Heights, published in 1913, and In the Garden With Him, published in 1914.She aided the poor and the needy and spent a year in Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. working with orphans.  Source: A Feminine Gaze: A Canadian Compendium of Non-Fiction Women Authors...online (accessed 2021);CE C W W W online (accessed 2021).

née Montreuil. Born April 18, 1914, Quebec. Died June 18, 2014, Quebec. Using the surname Martin, Claire worked as a secretary and then a host on CKCV Radio in Québec and Radio Canada in Montréal. In 1945 she married Roland Faucher and the couple settled in Ottawa where Claire became a full time writer. In 1958 Claire won the: Prix du Cercle du livre de France for her work Avec ou sans amour. By 1966 she earned the Governor General’s Award in Literature and the Prix Conecours littéraire du Québec for Dans un gant de fer. This book also won the Prix Jean-Hamelin. In 1967 she became a member of the Royal society of Canada. In 1984 she was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada and became a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001. In 1999 she won a medal from the  l'Académie des lettres du Québec. In 2007 she was inducted as an Officer of the National Order of Québec. In 2009 she became a member of the Académie des Grands Québécois followed and in 2010 she became an Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters. Source: Claire Martin: 100 ans et tout son cran Gazette des femmes April 17, 2014 online (accessed 2014)

Born September 25, 1943, Huntington, New York, U.S.A.  Eugenie began her career as an illustrator by working for a greeting card company. She illustrated cheap books where she says she learned to become a better artist. She enjoys illustrating books for young readers and has also written some of her own books. Some of her titles are : Waves in the Bathtub ( 1993), Ordinary Amos and the Amazing Fish (2000).

Born September 4, 1969, Huntington, New York, U.S.A. In high school she learned to sculpt  and found that three dimensional art was just how she could best express herself! Kim's Mom, Eugenie, is an illustrator and author of books for youth. Kim was encouraged to use her clay illustrations and write books to accompany her art. She attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and developed skills that lead her to a career of full time illustrator and part time author. She stores her fimo ( type of clay) illustrations in pizza boxes! She is a strong believer of 'visualization" ( seeing the completed work in her mind) before she begins working.

Died 2010, Hamilton, Ontario. A Hamiltonian for 58-years, Pat Filer committed her life to serving others. A 25-year association with The Girl Guides of Canada included serving as Hamilton Area District Commissioner and Deputy Chief Commissioner of Canada. During that time she revised the national Girl Guide program and oversaw the production of a new guiding handbook. In 1969 she was awarded the Guides’ highest service award – The Beaver Medal. Pat was a writer/editor on the Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, authored Mohawk College’s history and edited the autobiography of winemaker Andrew Peller. She served as chair of the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction and was inducted into the Gallery in 2015.

Born June 18, 1851, Belleville, Canada East (now Ontario). Died May 17, 1915, Victoria, British Columbia. May was privately educated and was was used to high society in both Ottawa and London, England. Some might say that as the grand daughter of the famous Susanna Moodie (1803-1885) Mary came by her desire to write naturally. She wrote thee books including A trip to Manitoba published in London, 1880. August 13, 1882 she married Clare Valentine Fitzgibbon (1858-1919) and the couple had one daughter. The family lived abroad for several years prior to her husband being committed to an asylum. May and her daughter returned to live in Canada. She took to being a journalist in order to support her daughter and invalid mother and worked for the Toronto Globe and Mail. By 1902 she had become the foreign correspondent for both the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Evening News and the Manitoba Free Press. She had an avid interest in Canadian history and in 1894 she founded the Canadian Women's Historical Society of Toronto. Her second book, Historic Days was published in Toronto, 1898. In 1903 she attended the convention of the National Council of Women in Victoria and became an active member of the Canadian Women's Press Club (C W P C).  Living in Victoria by 1907 she was paramount in approaching Lord Strathcona to build a hostel especially for immigrant women which opened as the Queen Mary Coronation Hostel in 1913 with May on the board of management.  In January 1918 she became the elected president of the Victoria League of Good Government which served several women's groups.  Source: D C B; Early Canadian Women Writers; online

née Rae. Born 1788, Aberdeen, Scotland. Died March 15, 1860. Ann married James Innis Knight July 3, 1810 and later as a young widow married James Fleming May 8, 1820 in Canada. In 1815 and 1816 she published two books called Home and a book of poems entitled A year in Canada and other poems.  Once settled in Canada she became a teacher concerned that the school books being used in her Canadian school house had very little Canadian content. She developed school books specifically for her young students. Her works may have been the first books for Canadian children. Her published works contained views of Canadian scenery and the book The Prompter was subtitled: Progressive exercises on English Language. She wanted to provide interesting lessons for her students and continued to “Canadianize” early textbooks. Source: D C B Vol. lll pg. 734-35 (U of T Press)

née Early. Born November 15, 1840, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died March 24, 1880, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. May Agnes was an avid writer even as a school child at the Saint John Convent of the Sacred Heart. While still in school she sold her 1st story to the New York Mercury. She enjoyed writing romance and mystery novels but as was the fashion of the time her novels would appear as serials (chapter by chapter in newspapers) under the pen name of Cousin May Carleton before being published as 21 full books. In 1865 she married an engineer, John W. Fleming and the couple with their four children eventually settled in New York where her 1st novel Ermine had been published in 1863. Her serials were published in New York and London, England! She also used the pen name M. A. Earlie. She often paid tribute to her Canadian heritage by introducing Canadian episodes and characters into her novels. It is not really known exactly how many stories she wrote as some were not written by her but were attributed to her by her publisher after her death because of her popularity. Source: D C B

Born Toronto, Ontario. Died October 12, 1953. While she entered her studies at the University of Toronto she did not graduate. This however did not stop her determination to write. She would produce four novels. The third novel was published under the pen name of Paul de Mar. (2020)

Nelly Arcan
 

Born March 5, 1973, Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Died September 24, 2009, Montreal, Quebec. Known as Nelly Arcan she had spent some time working as a professional escort sex worker. She drew on this background to produce her 1st novel Putain in 2001. In 2004 the novel was translated into English using the title Whore. Nelly would publish three additional novels which were widely accepted in both her home province of Quebec and in France. Her fourth novel Paradis, clef en main was entitled Exit in English editions. Sadly she hung herself and was found dead in her apartment just having finished her last book. She had been fascinated with beauty, eternal youth, and death. The library in Lac Mégantic was destroyed in the general 2013 devastation of an city wide derailment and explosion was re-established and named La Médiatheque municipale Nelly-Arcan in her honour.  Source: Nelly Arcan est morte, Canoe. Online (accessed 2009)

née Fulton. Born April 30, 1913, Lumsdon, Saskatchewan. Died March 28, 1996, Toronto, Ontario. Edith attended the University of Saskatchewan. and in 1938 she married Frank Folk who encouraged her search for folk music. Working for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (C B C) she hosed the radio program Folk Song Time from 1950 through 1963. This folklorist, collector, writer, and teacher was interested in Canadian folklore. She would publish some 15 books including Folk Songs of Canada and More Folk Songs of Canada and released recordings of many of these songs. She was a founding member of the Canadian Folk Music Society and editor of the society's journal. She was also a founder of the famous Mariposa Folk Festival. She is included in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Order of Canada. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada she was the 2000 recipient of the Folk Alliance International Lifetime Achievement Award. Source: Canadian Song Writers Hall of Fame (accessed 2020)

Born March 14, 1820, Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Died November 17, 1904, Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Eliza attended J. S. Thompson's Private School for Ladies, Halifax, Nova Scotia and took early training at Normal School (Teacher's College) teaching in Nova Scotia. She contributed to the Halifax Herald newspaper, the Presbyterian Witness, Message and other journals of the day. She was know to present papers to the Historical Societies of Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. She enjoyed writing and produced two books: Descriptive Sketches of Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1864) and The Twilight of Faith (Boston, 1891). Source: D C B

Born 1849?, Canada West (now Ontario).  Died May 31, 1896, Montreal, Quebec. The Fraser family relocated to Quebec in the 1870'ss but Charlotte's writing show part of her heart remained in Ontario. She was a member of the American Folk-Lore Society in Montreal and wrote tales of Highland Scottish culture which abounded during this time. In 1891 she published; Atma: A Romance which was a combination of poetry and prose. She is credited with collecting the first volume of fairy tales in English Canada, A Wonder Web of Stories in 1892. Along with Margaret Ridley Charleton she produced a second collection, With Printless Foot: A Holiday Book of Fairy Tales in 1894. Some of her works also appeared in the Canadian Magazine, Toronto, the Journal of American Folklore, Champaign, Illinois, U.S.A. and the Montreal Star newspaper. Source: Early  Canadian  Women  Writers  (accessed 2022)

Born July 1936, Cape Home Island, James Bay. Mini studied at Ste. Therese School and became a nurse in Fort George (now Chisasibi) Quebec. Moving to Ottawa in 1957 she began working for the government as a translator of Inuktitut. In 1978 she published her memoirs: Live Among the Qallunaat which provides insight into life in Inuit communities in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs suppressed distribution of the book by hiding copies in the basement of their offices. The book was republished by the University of Manitoba Press and finally too off. It was the 1st book in the First Voices, First Texts series which published lost or underappreciated texts by indigenous writers. The book has been translated into French, German and Greenlandic. The book won the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher, Manitoba Book Awards in 2016. Mini has also created a play Survival in the South. This was the 1st drama ever written by an Inuk and is an authentic attempt to come to aesthetic, as well as emotions terms with her journey of self-discovery in the Canadian south. In 1994 Mini and Odette Leroux and Marion E. Jackson wrote Inuit Women Artists: Voices from Cape Dorset published in Seattle by the University of Washington Press.

Born September 18, 1960, Chilliwack, British Columbia. After high school Gayle took a year to attend a Bible School in Sweden and to see Europe. Back home in Canada she worked at a bank to pay off her European trip. She married and shortly after her 1986 graduation from the University of British Columbia her first child was born. She now has two children. In 1998 she published her 1st novel for young adult readers called Janey’s Girl. The book garnered attention and won the Red Maple Reading Award and the Canadian Library Associations’ Young Adult Book Award. It has been translated into several languages. She has written an additional 5 books of which the Isabel Factor, published in 2005 received the 2007/2008 Stellar Award from the British Columbia’s Teacher’s Choice Award. Source: Gayle Friesen by Dave Jenkinson. University of Manitoba CM Magazine online (accessed January 2007)

Born June 15, 1887, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. June 10, 1960, St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A. Her family had immigrated from Nova Scotia to the U.S.A. In 1886 she married. The family spent summers in Nova Scotia. She enjoyed music and was a consert pianist. She wrote pomes which were published in various publications of the day and were included in New Harvesting: Contemporary Canadian Poetry from 1819-1938 and Nova Scotia Book of Verse published in 1949.  As a music critic she was a feature writer for a number of journals. She always considered Nova Scotia as her second home. Source: Early  Canadian  Women  Writers Online

née Johnson. Born Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. In 1963 Linda moved to Canada to study at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec where she earned her B.A. and Masters in the French Language. She married for a brief time but she kept her surname as her professional name. She has worked as a freelance journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Radio Canada and the Montreal Gazette, pursued a career in Canadian and Quebec theatre and, in the 2000s, served as the founding director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. Her translations have won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award, the two Governor General’s Awards for French to English translation and in 2014 the Lambda Literary Award for Drama. In 2015 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. She married two additional times to Nick Auf der Maur, with who she had a son and to author Herve de Fontenay with whom she also had a son. (2017)

née de Trafford Young. Born August 11, 1922. Died February 18, 2014, Paris, France. As a youngster Mavis told stories to her paper dolls to keep herself quietly entertained. A 4 years of age she was sent to boarding school. Her father died when she was 10 and her mother remarried and left for New York without her daughter who would attend a multitude of different schools. She settled in her late teens in Montreal. Here she married Johnny Gallant an Acadian might club entertainer who was soon a soldier in Europe. She was a working “Girl” at the National Film Board and an reporter at the Montreal Standard newspaper reluctantly hired to replace the men who were off fighting the war. She refused to write “girly” columns and was soon a feature writer for the paper. Her marriage disintegrated after the war and by 1951 she was submitting stories to the New Yorker and off to Live in Paris. Her early years in Europe had her living  in many short-term situations in the south of France, Switzerland and Spain, and eventually settled in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. This  was the home of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus in the 1950s, and the site of many student demonstrations in 1968 and during the labour and student strikes about the job laws in 2006. She chronicled the uprisings, initially for her personal notebooks, but eventually agreed to let The New Yorker publish them. (They appeared in Paris Notebooks.) She received the Governor’s General Award in 1981  for her work Home Truths: Selected Canadian Stories. She  would receive numerous honorary degrees, the Molson Prize from the Canada Council, the Canada-Australia Literary Prize, a tribute at the International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront in Toronto, the Blue Metropolis Literary Prize, the Inaugural Matt Cohen Prize, and the Pen Nabokov Award for career achievement. In 1981 she was made an officer of the Order of Canada and in 1993 this was upgraded to Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1983-1984 she returned to Canada as Writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto. She was preoccupied with the past in her last years as she  prepared her diaries  covering the years from 1952 through 1969 for publication. The diaries are to be published in Toronto and New York in 2015.In her last decade she was plagued by ill health and poverty. but  close friends rallied to support her ‘valiant spirit, her coruscating wit and her generous capacity for friendship.’  Source:  Sandra Martin. Writer Mavis Gallant dies at age 91, In the Globe and Mail February 18, 2014 ; The Canadian encyclopedia. Online (accessed June 2002)

Born February 11, 1900, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Died January 3, 1975, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Mary was a delightful child with a marvellous wit. She loved the stories her grandparents told and enjoyed even more sharing her own stories with her students where she taught school. In 1935 Mary began to tell her stories on C F N B, Fredericton Radio. Her Just Mary and Maggie Muggins stories soon were available on books for children to enjoy over and over again. The C B C soon came to call and offer Mary a Toronto position as head of the C B C Children’s broadcasting. In 1954 her characters made their TV debut with national exposure. By the time she had retired and moved back to her beloved Maritimes in 1962 she had written over 30 books and over 4,000 scripts for children’s programs. In 1947 the C B C presented Mary Gannan with the Beaver Award and in 1951 she was made an honorary member of the Mark Twain Society. Source: Marilyn Brinell, Memories of Mary Online (accessed November 2012) ; Andrea Bell, “Mary Gannon”, New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia Online (accessed November 2012)

née Bell. Born May 15, 1895, Gateshead-on-Tyne, England. Died October 21,1994, Markham, Ontario. At one point the family, which had spent time in the Caribbean, settled in Edinburgh, Scotland. During World War 1(1914-1918) Elsie met and married Hamor Gardner (1893-1948) in 1918. After the war the couple immigrated to Canada. The settled first in Newfoundland and then settled in Toronto, Ontario. The couple had three children together. In the 1930's she wrote her best known books in what is referred to as the Maxie series. There were seven adventure novels for girls. Her daughter and friends would wait to read each page of the stories as they come out of her mother's typewriter. She was an active member of the Canadian Women's Press Club and wrote a column called Life Begins at Forty for the Mail and Empire in Toronto as Janet Jamieson. The family relocate to Burlington, Ontario and Elsie became the first woman elected to the Burlington Town Council.  In Toronto, after the death of her husband in 1948 she became a bookkeeper. Source: Information supplied by daughter of Elsie Gardner.

Born June 4, 1948, Scarborough, Ontario. Died February 25, 2006, Toronto, Ontario. Margaret began writing to express her feelings while in therapy for mental illness. She would learn she was bipolar. She married Stuart Gibord in the early 1970's and the couple had one son. After her divorce there was a long custody battle or their son. In 1994 the story became a made for TV film, For the Love of Arron. Margaret published her first collection of short stories in 1976. From this collection the film Outrageous was produced and it was followed up by the film, Too Outrageous, ten years later. A second short story from the first publication became the TV drama series: For the Record directed by the famous Canadian director Claude Jutra (1930-1986). In 1977 her book, The Butterfly Ward won the City of Toronto Book Award. Three more short story collections followed in 1978, 1993, and 1996. Her first novel, Opium Dreams, was published in 1997 winning the Books in Canada First Novel Award. She married a second time to Juris Russell. The novel, The Book of Margaret and Madness: A Novel Inspired By True Events by Stephen and Guia Postal is based on Margaret's teen years. Source: Obituary, Legacy Online  (accessed 2020)

Born 1953, New Delhi, India. Rachna loved to read. Her favourites books growing up were Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. In 1967, as a teenager, she immigrated to London, England with her family. She thought of entering medicine and earned her BSc with honour from King’s College, London. Finding that medicine was not really her calling she traveled and in the late 1970’s she moved to Prince Edward Island where she married. The couple would have 4 daughters. Rachna earned her Bachelor of Education at the University of Prince Edward Island. She had always thought she would like to write and was constantly jotting notes in a scribbler but she never got around to writing anything from her notes. In 1989 she 1st picture book was accepted by a publisher was entitled: My Mother is Weird. In 1990 the family relocated to Ottawa, Ontario. In 1991 using the pseudonym Rachna Mara she published a collection of short stories. In the 1990’s she battled breast cancer but soon returned to writing. In 1999 she earned the Governor General’s Award for children’s book: A Screaming Kind of Day. In  2006 she won the I.O.D.E Violet Downey Book Award for The Sower of Tales. Her book the Trouble with Dilly was a Girl Guide Club pick and Resource Links Best Fiction (grades 3-8). She plans on writing more books letting her imagination lead her to more interesting characters. Rachna's books have been translated into several languages, including French, German, Danish, Spanish, Catalan, and , Korean She has given readings, writing workshops, and conference presentations to students, teachers, and aspiring writer across the country, as well as internationally.  Source: Dave Jenkinson, ‘Rachna Gilmore’ CM Magazine, 2001. Online. (accessed May 2014.) (2020)

née Blake. Born April 20, 1902, Mud Lake, Labrador. Died June, 10, 1982. Happy Valley, Goose Bay, Labrador. In 1920 Elizabeth married a trapper Jim Goudie. The couple had nine children. After the death of her husband Elizabeth began to write out her memories. In 1973 with the editing of David Zimmerly, an Artic ethnologist with the National Museum of Man (now Museum of Canadian History), Ottawa, a book,  Woman of Labrador was published. The book encompassed the history of early Labrador settlement and life. In 1975 a provincial government building was named in her honour. A song writer, Andy Vine, wrote of her in his song 'Woman of Labrador'. A one woman play, also entitled 'Woman of Labrador', was written by Sherri Smith. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online

Born November 26, 1923, Toronto, Ontario. Died May 6, 2017, Alliston, Ontario. As a youngster growing up DJ worked helping her mother who was director at the Toronto Children’s Players. After high school she earned a music degree and a degree in classical ballet. She attended Toronto Normal School (teacher’s college) and started teaching in a regular classroom but soon she round the larger appeal of the radio classroom. She scripted fairy tale plays and went on to storytelling. She was soon noticed by C B C Radio and for nine years from 1948 through 1957 she did Kindergarten of the Air on C B C. It was during this time that DJ married Bill Needles and the couple had five children. She began writing her stories and her first book Margaret told the story of a Irish immigrant girl bringing history alive for young readers. She taught summer school drama for the Toronto Board of Education and continued to write and produce for C B C’s school broadcasting division. She has published songs, books, almost 100 plays, a history of Toronto, an historical novel and drama guides for teachers. After she retired she moved to her farm in Dufferin County, Ontario and began working with seniors as well as working with youth in drama.  Sources: Dorothy-Jane Goulding: Profiles. Canadian Library Association, 1971; Needles Publishing. Biography. Online (accessed April 2014); Obituary, Globe and Mail May 2017, Online (accessed 2018)

Born 1952, Quebec City, Quebec. Died July 5, 2006, Quebec. Gabrielle earned a Doctoral degree (PhD) in French Literature from the University of Toronto (U of T).  She became a lecturer in the Department of Literature at Laval University, Quebec for many years. In 1992 she published a work of literary criticism, Analyse du discours narratif. That same year she published her first novel, Marie Chapdelaine ou le Paradis retrouvé which earned the Prix Robert-Cliche and the Prix littéraires Desjardins. As a journalist she wrote articles for Quebec newspapers such as La Presse, Le Devoir, and Le Soleil. In 2002 she published the story Gross Calise which brought a suit for defamation against her from a former colleague.  Gabrielle claimed that the character in the story was not based entirely on that specific person. The suit my have been the reason for her leaving Laval University. Source: Necrologie, Infocentre littéraires des écrivains, online (accessed 2006).

Born June 25, 1950, Windsor, Ontario. In 1954 the family relocated to Toronto for their father's new job. Barbara was an avid reader and a regular visitor to the local Bookmobile when it arrived in her area in Don Mills. Barbara attempted to go to University but lack of finances and a being discouraged by the long bus ride to campus she quickly dropped out. She went on to work and become a certified licensed broker. She eventually settled for being a secretary. In 1972 she married her high-school sweetheart but the marriage did not last long. Working for a publishing firm she became an editor and decided she could probable write as well as some of the authors she was editing. Her short stories were accepted by some literary magazines. It was at this time she met and fell in love and married anther editor. She wrote her 1st novel but it failed as did her marriage. In 1989 she wrote Falling Angels which would be made into a film of the same name in 2002. In 1992 she published a collection of short stories one of which became an independent film. Her book Helpless won the Trillium Book Award from the Ontario government. and the Marian Engle Award. Not always the winner her books have been nominated for numerous awards and was a three time finalist for the Governor General's Award in Literature.   In 2006 she was appointed to the Order of Canada. For the next decade she fought depression and severe pain and even considered suicide. She turned to writing again and produced her next best seller Little Sister. In 2012 she won a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for her work.

Born 1876. Died 1949. Maud graduated from the University of Toronto in 1876. During the South African Boer War (1899-1902) the British Government put out the call for patriotic women to be teachers at refugee/concentration Camps in South Africa. Maud was one of forty Canadian women who would travel to teach in South Africa. She sailed to England in April 1902. Here she and the other teachers met with Prime Minister Arthur Belfour and other notables such as Lord Baden Powell.  Arriving in South Africa there were 17,000 Boer children in concentration camps waiting to be to be trained in English language and society. Maud was posted to Norval's Point encampment. The war officially ended in May 1902 and by October 1902 the refugee camps were closed and the women teachers were sent out into the country to set up schools and teach. Maud taught in Fauresmith and Kroostad. She would return home to Canada in 1904. She had written of her experiences in South Africa and the articles were published in the Montreal Daily News. In 1905 she gathered her writings together and published : A Canadian Girl in South Africa: A Teacher's experience in the South African War. In 1907 Maud was Principal of a girl's high school in Quebec City. It seems that Maud's book was not published in great numbers but in 2015 it was republished with scholar notes as a good example of Victorian patriotism and first hand account of the 300 teachers from the Empire who traveled to South Africa.  (2020)

Minerva ‘Min / Minnie’ Gram     Educator & Local Historian
née Levinson. Born October 15, 1907, New Liskeard, Ontario. Died October 30, 1992, Timmins, Ontario. The Levinson family had come to Canada from Odessa which was part of Russia at that time, and settled as pioneers in a Northern Ontario. Minerva and her twin brother Ulysses ‘Uly’ came their family to the Porcupine are before the fire of 1911 where her family owned a general store in Pottsville. Behind the store was a large bunkhouse for mine workers. When the twins began school their Russian-Jewish sounding names were changed to Minerva and Ulysses, ‘Uly’. She remembered having to miss school when she and Uly had typhoid and they had to take the kerosene treatment and breathe in horse breath with a blanket over themselves and the horse. Minnie did return to school and went on to attend the North Bay Normal School (teacher’s college). Her first school as a teacher was in Gardiner near Cochrane Ontario before accepting positions in Timmins. May 1, 1943 she married Herschel ‘Harry’ Gram (1908-1992). The couple had two sons. Min would serve as president of the Timmins-Porcupine School District of Ontario where she was a crusader for many benefits which are taken for granted today. She was active with the Federation of Women Teachers Association of Ontario where she served as local president. She served as president of the local branch of Elementary Federation of Teachers of Ontario. For fifty years she believed in being active in service to her community. She would serve as president of the Hadassah Society, the Red Cross, the Women’s Auxiliary to Cubs and Scouts, the Women’s Auxiliary of Legion Branch 287, Board of Governors of the Porcupine General Hospital, and the United Israel appeal. She was a volunteer at the Timmins Museum and the Porcupine Historical Society. In 1974 she was recognized for her monumental contributions to education in Northern Ontario with the Fred L. Bartlett Award from the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.  She became a welcome storyteller and wrote stories of her early days in the Porcupine. In 1982/83 she was presented with an award of merit from the local branch of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (C I M). In 1984 the national C I M awarded her the Sancta Barbara Medal which recognizes the role women have played in the progressive development of a Canadian mining community. Min had watched and grown herself as the Porcupine grew from a rough mining tent camp to a thriving city. In 1987 Min and Uly told their experiences growing up in the Porcupine to local crowds. In 1995 a plaque was put up at the Timmins Museum to honour Minerva Levinson Gram who created a video about the 1911 fire. In 2012 Minerva Gram and Uly Levinson were two of the people pictured in the Timmins 100 Faces Mural commemorating Timmins’ most influential people The Mural is located at the Timmins Senior Recreation Centre. Source: Tales from the Porcupine told first hand by Karen Bachmann Timmins Press, January 10, 2020. Online (accessed 2024); Fire! Timmins museum brings back memories of devastating disaster in Porcupine Camp by Carlo Cattarello, Timmins Daily Press July 14, 1995, pg 16.; Long time city resident wins prestigious award by Linda Gutrie. Timmins Daily Press  April 31, 1984. Sincere thanks to the family for providing information and copies of newspaper clippings.

Born February 21, 1963. Rebecca studied to be a geological engineer at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1985. She soon found that her interest in animals could be the base for a new career. She is now an experienced photographer of natural history and has created books to share her love for readers of all ages. She began writing in 1994 and is an acclaimed and award winning author of 25 books. In 2004 she won the Canadian Science Writers Association’s Science in Society Award and the Animal Behavior Society’s Outstanding Children’s Book Award for Lupe: a wolf pup’s first year. She gets in touch with nature through her gardening and designs intricate needlework patters based on her nature photographs taken around the world. Rebecca is married and has opened her home to menagerie of rescued pets. Check out her web site “Wild Threads” Sources: Wild Threads on line; Herstory: a Canadian Woman’s Calendar 2012.

née Robinson. Born July 1851 Toronto, Ontario. Died November 2, 1923, Toronto, Ontario. As the daughter of John Beverly Robinson Minnie was from one of the big families of Toronto and was married in 1842. She enjoyed writing and published a book, Scenes in Hawaii in 1888. Later she became interested in history and turned her writing talents to producing series of articles for the Canadian magazine entitled Bygone Days which were published in 1914. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

Born January 1, 1907, Finchley England. Died April 14, 1950, North Vancouver, British Columbia. When she was just seven years old she and her family immigrated to Canada and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. By the time she was 12 she had drafted a novel. She would go on to publish 22 serial novels and almost 150 short stories published in periodicals around the world. In Canada her romantic fiction appeared in the Canadian Author and Bookman, Canadian Magazine, Chatelaine, Maclean's, and the Vancouver Sun newspaper. After a visit to Australia her works appeared mainly in the Australian Journal. While some of her work was to be published as a book it seems only one was published. Hidden Firs was published posthumously in 1951.  Beryl was also known for being a playwright with her plays being produced in Vancouver. Source: Early  Canadian  Women  Writers online (accessed 2022)

Born October 31, 1896, Six Nations Reserve, Brantford, Ontario. Died December 30, 1983, Six Nations Reserve, Brantford, Ontario. Alma's Aboriginal name was Gah-Wonh-nos-doh which translates as forbidden voice. Alma learned to listen to stories of her people at her grandfather's knee. Sometimes referred to as a Mohawk Princess, she would become a Clan Mother of the Mohawk, storyteller, healer, and activist for her peoples. Having long followed the oral tradition of storytelling of her people Alma would publish the stories of her people in Forbidden Voice: Reflections of a Mohawk Indian which appeared in 1972 and was republished in 1997. Originally it took Alma six years to find a publisher before the book was picked up by a printing house in Great Britain. She also penned Tales of the Mohawk published in 1975.Source: Btown, Online  (accessed 2020)

Born March 16, 1924, Toronto, Ontario. Died August 2, 2015, Toronto, Ontario. Phyllis earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts from the University of Ottawa and a Doctor of Letters from the University of London, England. She gained an interest in the Victoria era and . In 1948 she married a Naval Officer, Robert Grosskurth. With her husband often away on duty she raised their family. In 1960 the family was in London, England and worked on her doctorate in literature. In 1964 she wrote a biography of John Addington Symonds called Male Love: a Problem in Greek Ethics and Other Writings, for which she earned a Governor General's Award. She went on to pen additional Victorian biographies. By the mid 1960 she had become the first female professor in the English Department at the U of T. In 1968 Phyllis would marry writer Mavor Moore (1919-2006) and a third marriage took place in 1986 to Bob Mullan. In 1999 she wrote her own memoir, Elusive Subject: a Biographer's Life. In 2000 she became an Officer in the Order of Canada. In 2001 she was part of a group of female professors that challenged the U of T on wage discrimination which was eventually settled in mediation. Source: Cabbagetown People, online (accessed 2022)

Born July 1857, Horton, Nova Scotia. Died 1903, British Columbia?. By1881 Carrie was living in Wolfville, Nova scotia and ten years later she was in Grand Pré. Carrie would publish five novels most of which were published in Nova Scotia. Most of her stories had a back drop of the Annapolis Valley where she had grown up. Her first novel appeared in 1891 and was entitled: Mr. Perkins, of Nova Scotia; or, the European Adventures of a Would-be Aristocrat. This was followed in 1893 by, A Romantic Romance. It only took a year for the third novel to appear, Cyril Whyman's Mistake, which was published in Toronto. In 1895 she published once again in Nova Scotia, Faith and Friends which was followed in 1896 by the last novel, A Modern Evangeline. By 1901 she had travelled with her brother Edgar and was in Rossland, British Columbia. Source: Early Canadian Women Women  (accessed 2022)

Born 1938? Died April 14, 2013, Toronto, Ontario.  In the late 1960's in Toronto Susan participated as a performance artist and collaborator. In 1974 she published Orgasms which was a collection of interviews with women. She worked in the 1970's and through the 1980's as a typesetter for the Toronto Sun newspaper and Gandalph Graphics. She went on to work in editing with C Magazine and as a freelance editor. She collaborated with other author to produce two books and then showing her humor she published Zodicat Speaks, on cat astrology. She also belonged to several community groups in support of animal welfare.  Her first novel had just been published and was receive rave reviews when she died. The Silent Wife was a psychological thriller which had taken Susan ten years to write. It was launched  in the U.S.A. and The Netherlands in June of 2013 and published in French in 2014. Source: 'On the cusp of literacy fame, Toronto author A. S. A. Harrison slips Away' by Greg Quill, Toronto Star April 16, 2013, online (accessed 2022)

née Hawkins. Born November 21, 1879, St. Thomas, Ontario. Died April 4, 1958, West Vancouver, British Columbia. Irene graduated from Alma College in St. Thomas and went on to study at the Curry College of Expression in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. In 1905 she married Dr. William Moody and the couple settled in Vancouver. She penned a novel for youth readers, Delphine of the Eighties, and four volumes of poetry. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

née Herring. Born December 23, 1851, King's Lynn, England. Died November 16, 1916, Westminster, British Columbia. Frances was educated in Reading, England and would teach there. In 1874 she immigrated to British Columbia. In December that year she married a cousin, Jonathan J. Herring. The couple had eight children of whom only four survived to adulthood. The family settled in Langley, British Columbia. In summer 1875 she earned her certificate to teach and the following year taught in town. The pair relocated to New Westminster in 1878 and began their family. She also became editor of the Home Circle Section of the British Columbia Commonwealth in 1892. It was in this column that her short stories first appeared in print. The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto hired Frances as their correspondent in British Columbia. She would serve president of the Royal Columbian Hospital Women's Auxiliary and was a member of the National Council of Women. As a devoted member of her Anglican church she was on the executive of the Woman's Auxiliary to the Missionary Society and lead Bible studies for young women. She had the reputation of a strong supporter of women's rights. From 1900 to 1914 she penned six novels with five of the books having timelines set in British Columbia. In 1913 she published Nan and Other Pioneer Women of the West which was a collection of short stories. Source: D C B  (2020)

née Gourlie. Born April 18, 1861, Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Died February 24, 1915, Sherbrooke, Quebec. On February 19, 1879Jessie married Robert Hogg. While the couple had five sons and three daughters. Sadly only three sons would become adults. Jessie was involved with charitable works with homeless children. She was also a writer. An early work called Belle Marie, based on a old Micmac tale, was published in the Prince Edward Island Magazine in July 1899. In 1901 she began publishing Christmas Chimes which was an annual magazine. She wrote stories and was editor of the magazine. In 1905 the provincial tourist association  used her works to promote  P. E. I. as a destination. By 1908 she had turned her attention to Wonderland, a concert hall and cinema in Charlottetown. The name was changed to the People's Theatre in 1910. After the 1910 death of her husband she  handed over management of the theatre to her son William Gregory Hogg. Family accounts show her as being remarried and establishing a second theatre in Smiths Falls, Ontario. The marriage and theatre ended in failure and Jessie returned to Charlottetown to be with her son. She was living with another son when she died in Sherbrooke. Source D C B (2023)

Born March 10, 1917. Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. Died February 13, 2019, Sechelt, British Columbia. Edith attended the Hathaway Brown School for Girls and went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts in political science at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She continued her education at the Columbia University School of Journalism, New York City, U.S.A. She became interested in Eskimo culture and traveled north  to learn more for one of her books, Ice Road Truckers. She would appear as herself in the the History Channel presentation on Ice Road Truckers.  Edith married for a second time to a Canadian fisherman, John Daly, and she featured him in her book, Fishing with John in 1988. After John's sudden death she married another Canadian Frank White (died 2018) and the couple settled on the Canadian west coast. As well as her many books, Edith was well known for her contributions as a freelance writer to such magazines as The New Yorker, Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, and Geist magazines. Source: Writer Edith Iglauer's legacy on the B. C. fishing village she made home. C B C February 18, 2019, online (accessed 2018)

Born July 14, 1907, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 16, 2008. Grace obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Victoria College, University of Toronto in 1929 and by 1932 she had earned her Master's Degree. She taught Latin, English  and History at Humberside Collegiate Institute, Toronto from 1931to 1942 before becoming Head of the Latin and Greek Department from 1942 through 1969. She began publishing novels in 1952 with her book Least of all Saints. and continued to produce novels over the next few decades. In 1967 she was awarded a Canada Centennial of Confederation medal. In 1986 she published the biography Three Lives in Mine. She was an ordained minister with the Congregational Christian Church. She also wrote poems and article for various magazines.  She served as president of the Toronto Classical Club, was on the executive committee of the Ontario Classical Association and served on the Senate of the University of Toronto in 1952 to 1956.  She was a member of the congressional Christian Churches of America. The Grace Irwin Prize is Canada's largest literary award for Christian writers. Source: Canadian Who's Who; Obituary, Globe and mail 2008, online 

née Schroder. Born 1930, The Netherlands. After World War ll Maria and her husband Peter Moens immigrated to Canada settling in Toronto. They had five children. After graduating with her degree in 1975 from York University, Toronto she studied for her Master’s Degree and began writing poetry. She founded a poetry reading series called Axle-Tree Coffee House and edited a number of publications for Poetry Toronto magazine. She also took part time work magazine a scientific journal a position she held for 18 years. And Marie would continue on after Heather retired in 2000.In 1983 along with Heather Cadsby founded Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Ltd. hoping to publish works by women poets. They encouraged women poets, they published works by women and ran an all women business.  In 1984 she joined the League of Canadian Poets and became part of the feminist caucus. In 1990 she was president of the League.  (2017)

née Murphy. Born May 17, 1794, Dublin, Ireland. Died March 17, 1860, London, England. At four years of age her family migrated to England and settled in London. At 16 she was working as a governess and in 1821 she became engaged to lawyer Robert Jameson. However, the engagement was broken off and Anna went to Italy as a companion to a young student. She wrote a book hoping to earn enough money to purchase a guitar. The book was well received but the Diary of an Ennuyee, published in 1826, became somewhat scandalous when her identity was discovered. She later decided to marry Robert Jameson but in 1829 she left for a position in Dominica and never sent for her to be with him. That year she wrote the Loves of the Poets. In 1832 she published Characteristics of a woman which analyzed heroines of Shakespeare.  Her Husband summoned her to Canada in 1836 who now resided in Upper Canada (now Ontario). After landing in New York, U.S.A. she had to find her won way to Toronto in the middle of winter. She penned a travelogue of her journey, Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada published in 1838. She also traveled into Indian settlements while in Canada and explored the settlements along Lake Huron.  A well known author by the time she came to Canada to join her husband she chronicled her 8 month stay in her book “Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada”  published in 1838. She returned to England in 1838 where she continued to be a successful writer and researcher. Source: D C B

née Dakin. Born January 1, 1837, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Died April 12, 1909, Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.A. When in her midteens Cecilia's family relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She studied in private schools in Canada, New York, Boston and Paris, France. She married in 1863 to George Hamilton and the couple settled in Rome, Italy for three years to study portrait painting. She published her first book Woven of Many Treads in 1871. Returning to the United States she opened a studio and continued to publish  more novels, short stories and articles for popular magazines of the day. In 1878 she married Samuel Jamison (1848-1902) and the couple settled near New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. Her written works for children were sold across the country. After the death of her husband she returned to live the Boston area. Source Early  Canadian  Women Writers (accessed 2022)

née Moore. Born Dundas, Ontario. Died November 6,1932. As a career journalist she contributed occasional papers on rural life to the Toronto Mail and Empire. She also wrote three books; The Hickory stick: a romance of the school in the cedars (Toronto, 1921) ; The cattle in the stall; sketches and poems (Toronto, 1932)

Born March 13, 1930, Pincher Creek, Alberta. Died December 14, 2021, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Annie was not famous in any sense of the word but she was generous without fault, caring of all of nature and comfortable faithful. She says she was that last child, the unwanted pregnancy. She left high school after grade nine to care for her ill mother. At 16 she was baptised at the Springridge Mennonite Church. She loved the simple life and the simple things of life. She worked as a cook at the Canadian Mennonite Bible College from 1959 though 1984 (now the Canadian Mennonite University). She owned no TV and no cell phone. She was always ready to help others and all were welcome at her table to share at any time. In 2021 she produced a book In Gratitude which contained recipes, home remedies and reflections.  (2022)

Born 1830? Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died 1895? Montreal, Quebec. Amelia grew up in Halifax. In 1854 she published Linden Rhymes named after her childhood home. S wrote Letters from Linden HILL as a serial in the  Halifax Monthly Magazine from 1852-1853. She penned a poetic series on Nova Scotia wildflowers published in The Provincial.  Her poem Autumn in Nova Scotia won a prize at the Nova Scotia Industrial Exhibition in 1854. About 1875 she lived in Montreal for ten years. The 1883 she is credited with a volume of verse North Mountair by ‘Mileta’. It is also thought that she used the pen names Maude.  She published her poem Sable Island in the Dominion Illustrated in June 1889 and continued a column for some years in this publication. She is a good example of a host of Canadian writers of her era.

née Lichtenstein. Born May 28, 1764, Little Ogeechee, Georgia, U.S.A. Died September 24, 1848, Halifax, Nova Scotia. After the death of her mother Elizabeth was brought up by her great aunt in Georgia. In 1779 Elizabeth married William Martin Johnston, a captain while her father was involved in loyalist activities during the American Revolution. In 1779 Elizabeth married William Martin Johnston (1754-1806), a captain in the New York Volunteers. The couple had at least three children. When Charleston, South Carolina was evacuated by the British in December of 1782 Elizabeth and her children went to St. Augustine, Florida. In 1784 the family was in Spain and then sailed to Scotland for William to complete his medical studies. The settled  the were in Kingston, Jamaica, by 1786 until 1810 when the family finally settled in Nova Scotia. In 1836 she wrote her memoirs mainly for her grandchildren. Recollections of a Georgia Loyalist showed first hand experience of an important colonial family. Elizabeth's children married into some of the most prominent families in Nova Scotia. Source: D C B (2023)

Born 1941. Julie grew up in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Even as a teen she loved to write stories. She attended the University of Toronto to earn her BA. Hero of Lesser Causes was her 1st published novel for young readers. It earned the Governor General’s Award for English Language Children’s Literature. In 1993 she earned the I O D E Violet Downey Book Award.  Julie is married with four daughters. In 1994 she published Adam and Eve and Pinch-me which won the Governor General’s Award for English Language Children’s Literature, the Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult Book Award in 1995 and the Ruth Schwartz Children’s Book Award in 1995.  In 2003 she earned the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature recognizing her contribution to Canadian Children’s Literature. In 2005 she published As If By Accident her 1st book for adults.(2017)

née Sullivan.  Born 1870, Toronto, Ontario. Died April 1, 1945. As a writer she often used the pen name of Susanne or Suzanne Marny. She is credited with two books: The Canadian Book of Months (Toronto, 1908) and Tales of Old Toronto (Toronto, 1909)

née Johnson. Born February 26, 1963, Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a young girl growing up Canadian winters were a way of life and she started at 6 to compete in speed skating. She would win 12 national speed skating titles and would represent Canada on the national team that trained in Germany.  While she always liked to write and sketch her 1st year at the University of Manitoba was spent in labs for chemistry, physics and biology. However she soon found English courses easier and much more fun. After the death of her father she cared for her mother. After her mother’s death she relocated to Toronto where she met author Nicholas Shakespeare a writer on tour. In 1999 the couple married and settled in Tasmania with some time spent each year in Oxford, England. The couple have two sons. Gillian writes and illustrates her own books for children . Some 30 titles had been published and translated into 10 different languages by 2014. She has also illustrated works by author colleagues including noted children’s poet Dennis Lee. Source: Gillian Johnson by Dave Jenkinson in CM Magazine, University of Manitoba Online (accessed January 2007)

Born August 26, 1853, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died February 27, 1933, Menton, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France.. This author developed the “new woman” theme in her novels.  She also wrote shot stories and travel articles for magazines.  She used the pen name of 'Alix John' for one of her novels.  In 1903 she was described as one of Canada’s leading women novelists. Her works included : The Night Hawk (Toronto & New York 1901); Bubbles we buy (Toronto, 1903) Gabriel Praed's Castle (Boston, 1904) ; Marcus Holbrach's Daughter (New York, 1912) and Flame of Frost (1918). She served as chatelaine for her father, Alfred Gilpin Jones (1824-1906), during his term as the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. After her father's term of office she moved to live in France. Source: ECWW (2020)

née Field. Born June 1, 1804, Lambeth (now London) England. Died August 17, 1890, Brantford, Ontario. In 1820, after the death of her mother Eliza left boarding school to care for her younger siblings. In 1831 she met a handsome Ojibwa gentlemen who was touring England to raise funding for Ojibwa missionary work in Canada. Eliza married her handsome Peter Jones (died 1856) on September 8, 1833 in New York City, U.S.A. The couple settled on the Credit River Indian Reserve Upper Canada. They would have four sons who survived infancy. From In 1838 Eliza published the story of the death of her niece: Memoir of Elizabeth Jones, a Little Indian Girl. 1841-1849 they served at the Muncey Mission near London, Canada West. Eliza was given the Ojibwa name Kecheahgahmequa which meant lady from beyond the blue waters. In 1854 she won awards for her works in miniature and watercolour painting at the Canada Provincial Exhibition. After Peter’s Death she married John Carey, a farmer from New York State, U.S.A. but the marriage only lasted a couple of years. In 1860 she published Ojibwa: life and journals and the following year published History of the Ojebway Indians. She also did a sketch of Chief Joseph Brant which was featured in the New Dominion Monthly in 1872. Eliza taught painting until she became blind in 1880. Source: D C B

Born February 13, 1938, London, England. Sonia attended University of Madrid, Spain from 1958-59 and then the Sorbonne, in France in 1959-1960. She earned her BA from Bennington College in 1961 and went to the University of California, Berkley, U.S.A. for her Masters Degree in 1963. From there she attended Harvard University where she earned he PhD in 1971. She married Gordon Jones on May 28, 1970 and the couple had two children. She had been a teaching Assistance and instructor in Berkeley d a teaching fellow at Harvard. She has also been an instructor at Turfs University and in 1972-1973 she was an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. From has also worked at Acadia University. She is a co-founder and co-owner with her husband of Peninsula Farm Ltd manufacturing yogurt and other dairy products. She has served on the executive Council for International Business Studies at Dalhousie University and has been Chair of the Executive Council Cultural Activities from 1976-1982. In 1987 she earned a Certificate of Merit for Business Excellence and the following year she earned Successors Award for Entrepreneurship from Canadian Business Magazine. She has written Spanish language textbooks and the book It All began with Daisy which was condensed by Reader’s Digest and translated into 15 languages. (2017)

Born June 21, 1879, Collina, New Brunswick. Died April 17, 1972, Saint John, New Brunswick. Like so many of her generation Agnes graduated from Normal School (teacher's college). She would also take studies in nursing in Worcester, Massacheutts, U.S.A.  She remained in Worcester working a a nurse for several years prior to returning to New Brunswick where she worked with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) and the Red Cross. Relocating to Toronto, Ontario, she worked at the Royal Ontario Museum and took studies in literature. She wrote and illustrated articles for a variety of magazines including the American Journal of Nursing, Canadian Geographic Journal, the Canadian Nurse, and Women's World. . Using the pen name Ottawa Correspondent  she wrote columns in the Saint John Standard. In 1926 she published one volume of poetry, The Shepherd of the Hills. Her book, Treasure Seeking in the Store Rooms of the Past, published in 1931, included her own illustrations. Articles on experiences of a student nurse appeared in The Public Health Journal. Agnes was also an inventor and in 1924 she held a paten for a collapsible ironing board. In 1958 she retired back to New Brunswick. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers  (accessed 2020)

Born March 30, 1969, Ponka, Alberta. She would attend fashion design school in Toronto, Ontario but somehow it did not work out for her. Instead she began a degree in English literature at the University of Toronto but returned west to the University of British Columbia to complete the degree. She took a job as an editor at a self help book publishing company  and continued her formal education with a Masters degree in publishing. When she began writing she would write on the bus and she migrated to a coffee ship. Her 1st novel Alice I think appeared in 2000. She has also produced a series of books about a teen girl who does not quite fit into her world, the Alice MacLeod series. The books have become the basis for  television series. She also teaches creative writing at the Vancouver Island University and at the University of British Columbia. Source: Susan Juby by Dave Jenkinson  CM magazine online (accessed January 2007).

Born March 13, 1962, Lahore, Pakistan. Rejection of her first storybook by publishers encouraged Rukhana to put away her writing. She got married and started a family leaving her writing alone. Coming across her old rejection slips she found that publishers had actually been encouraging her and made suggestions to improve her writing. She decided to give it a try again. A local librarian encouraged her to learn more about writing from the Canadian Children's book Centre. By the end of 2000 she had penned some five books including an in depth novel. Not a bad accomplishment for someone who thought she could not become a writer because of her ethnic background!

Born June 7, 1948. Welwyn is married to journalist Doug Bale and the couple has one daughter. In 1987 she earned an International Children’s Fiction Contest for her novel for youth called False Face and the Third Magic won the Governor General’s Award for English Language youth literature. In 1994 she earned the Vicky Metcalf Award for her publication for young readers, Wichery Hill. (2017)

Born December 3, 1951, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Died October 12, 2018, Montreal, Quebec. Linda would earn her journalism degree from Syracuse University, New York, U.S.A. .Died October 12, 2018, Montreal, Quebec. Linda was a reporter, sports writer and columnist for more that two decades in the U.S.A. She began her career at the Paterson News in New Jersey, U.S.A.  In 1979 she was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for a story covering a airplane crash. She went on to become the 1st woman sports reporter for the Chicago Tribune. She fell in love with Montreal and settled there in the 1980's. In 1990 she was teaching at Concordia University and became a full professor in 2014. In 2007 she earned the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence in the Faculty of Arts and Science. She served as Chair of Concordia University Department of Journalism where she taught and encourages two decades of Canadian journalists. She was also  a columnist for the Montreal Gazette and her writing also appeared in the Globe and Mail, the London Free Press, and various Canadian magazines including Chatelaine and Newsweek. She discovered and wrote about the founding of the Canadian Womens Press Club on a trip from the St Louis World's Fair in her 2012 book: Sweet Sixteen: The Journey that Inspired the Canadian Women's Press Club which was published in French in 2016 as, Elles etaient seize: Les premières femmes journalistes au Canada. in 2013 she was the Woman of Distinction in Communications from the Montreal Y W C A. Linda was divorced from husband Bernard Rivest. The couple had one daughter.  Source: Linda Kay (1951-2018); Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a phenomenal teacher and mentor, by Taylor Tower, October 16, 2018, Concordia University, Online (accessed 2018)

SEE - Jean Blewett

née Marcia Schonfeld. Born April 17, 1943, Queen’s, New York, U.S.A.  Died July 17, 1989, Vancouver, British Columbia. Dayal attended the Arts Students League 1964-1965 and graduated from City College of New York. In 1970 she moved to Canada with her partner Brian Grison and stayed in Canada when their relationship ended. In 1974 she settled in Millbrook, Ontario to live on a farm. The following year she was in Toronto and joined a women’s health collective. In time she adopted the Sikh lifestyle and received her new name meaning princess of kindness and purity. She began promoting the Ashram she lived in which led to interest with a graphic design studio. In the 1980’s she relocated to Montreal, Quebec. In 1982 she brought illustrations to show Tundra Books who liked the strong colour sense. She first worked on board books for babies and this was followed by books for older children. In 1986 she made the New York Times Notable Children’s Book list and New York Public Library Award for Best Children’s Book for Tales of a Gambling Grandma. The following year she was awarded the Canada Council Children’s Literature Prize Honourable Mention for Illustration and was a finalist for the Amelia Frances Howard Gibbon Illustrator’s Award. In 1988 she won the Governor General’s Award for Book Illustration for Sleepers. This book also wan the Parent’s Choice Award for Illustration in 1988. Source: Celebrating Dayal Kaur Khalsa, Library and Archives Canada, Online (accessed 2025)

Born  August 2, 1934, Montreal, Quebec. Val completed degrees from Smith College, Northampton, Massacheutts, U.S.A., McGill University, Montreal, and Carleton University, Ottawa. This former history teacher and, now free lance writer, has been successful in writing for newspapers, magazines, and federal government departments. She has authored some a dozen books. She uses her historical studies and archives background to develop her contribution to historical writings of Canada. Her book, Strangers at Our Gates,  2nd edition (1997) provided the only writing to give a complete overview of the history of Canadian immigration.  She has established herself as a biographer of note with her book, Cairine Wilson, Canada's First Woman in the Senate was published in 1988, The award winning book Telegrapher to Titan the life of William C. Van Horne was published in 2004 and a collection of profiles of famous and obscure figures of Ottawa have appeared in three volumes called Capital Lives. She has also written a history of the Zonta Club of Ottawa. Val and her husband Dave live in Ottawa. (2020)

Born June 6, 1935, Vancouver, British Columbia. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in 1941 the Canadian government placed 1st general in internment camps. Joy's family was sent to Slocan, British Columbia. After World War ll the family settled in Coaldale, Alberta. Joy graduated from the University of Alberta, the Anglican Women's Training College, and the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Ontario. Back in Vancouver she married David Kogawa in 1957. The couple divorced in 1968 and Joy attended the University of Saskatchewan before moving to Toronto in 1979. In 1973 this busy single mother of two worked as a writer in the Prime Minister's Office. Her 1st book of poetry was published in 1968. In 1981 she published, Obasan and won The First Novel Award. This book would later be adapted as a 45 minute opera which toured elementary schools in British Columbia. In 1982 she won the the Bork of the Year Award  and an American Book Award. Her 1st children's book Naomi's Road appeared in 1985. She is known for her novels, children's books, poetry and essays, which have been published in Canada and in Japan. She is also an activist who was instrumental in influencing the Canadian government in their settlement with Japanese Canadians for loss of liberty and property in Canada during World War ll. In 1986 she became a member of the Order of Canada. November 5, 2005 the City of Vancouver declared Obasan Cherry Tree Day and planted a graft of the Cherry tree from the Kogawa home at the city hall. The Kogawa house was saved from demolition and has been renovated to its 1940 appearance. In 2006 she was inducted into the Order of British Columbia where she lives some of the time. In 2010 she was honored with the Order of the Rising Sun by Japan for her contribution to the understanding and preservation of Japanese Canadian history. In 2012-13 she was Writer in Residence at the University of Toronto.

Born September 2, 1944, Edmonton, Alberta. Myrna graduated from the University of Alberta, Edmonton and went on to study at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. and the University of Toronto. Myrna published her 1st book, All of Baba' Children in 1977. In 1985 she earned a Silver Citation in the National Magazine Awards. In 1988, her book, No Kidding: Inside the World of Teenage Girls, received the Alberta Culture and Writers' Guild of Alberta prizes for Best Non-Fiction. That same year she received the Alberta Achievement Award. She won the award again in 1994 for her book Bloodline: A journey into Eastern Europe which was one of the ten best books of the year according to Maclean's magazine.  She is a founding member of the Periodical Writer's Association of Canada and the Writers' Guild of Alberta where she has served as President in 1989-1990. In 2002 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Jubilee Aware which was followed in 2005 with an Alberta Centennial Medal.  In 2006, Reading the River: A Traveller’s Companion to the North Saskatchewan was a prize winner at the Saskatchewan Book Awards. In 2006 she earned the Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writers' Guild of Alberta. She is also a founding member of the Creative Nonfiction Collective serving as President from 2006 through 2009. In 2006, Reading the River: A Traveler's Companion to the North Saskatchewan was a prize winner at the Saskatchewan Book Awards. By 2016 she had published 11 books in all. She has also written numerous contributions for books, for film, stage, and radio. Myrna has bee Writer-in-Residence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario and the Whyte Museum in Banff. Alberta.(2019)

SEE - Poets

née  Wemys. Born July 18, 1926, Neepawa, Manitoba. Died January 5, 1987, Selwyn, Ontario. From age seven she wrote stories. Her gift of writing leaves a permanent mark on contemporary Canadian Literature. Her 1st writing job was as a reporter and book reviewer for the Winnipeg Citizen. She wrote with the experience of having lived in England, Somalilanc, Ghana, Greece, Crete, Palestine, India, Egypt and Spain but Canada was always home.  She is much beloved and remembered for her works, her personal warmth, strength and humor which she shared so generously. In 1972 she became a Companion of the Order of Canada. She won two Governor General's Awards for her novels, The Diviners in 1974 and A Jest of God in 1996.  An annual lecture series has been named in her honour by the Writer's Trust of Canada. The University of Winnipeg and York University, Toronto, have named buildings in her honour. In 2016 she was named a National Historic Person.  Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, (Hurtig, 1990)

Born February 11, 1871, Stanley Township, Huron, Ontario. Died November 15, 1936, Wassaic, New York, U.S.A. When Agnes was just two the family relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba. By 15, too young to be granted a teaching certificate,  she was working as a substitute teacher in a prairie school. Ill health would force her to withdraw from studies at the University of Manitoba. Agnes turned to writing with her works being published in the Manitoba Free Press and the New York Evening Post. From 1885 for two years she worked as an editor for the Manitoba Free Press. In 1900 she published her 1st novel, Lords of the North. By 1901 she was living in Wassaic, New York but would often visit Canada in the summers. She produced articles for Saturday Night on labour and racial issues in British Columbia. In 1919 she traveled to Mexico with the Childhood Conservation League. She continued to write books that here biographies and histories on early North America. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online   (accessed 2020)

Born 1947, Victoria, British Columbia. Julie trained as a teacher at the University of Victoria . After she graduated she spent a year in France and traveling Europe. Back home again she taught at elementary school in British Columbia. It was not until she was forty that she decided to take writing seriously. In 1990 she published The Sand Sifter.  Many of her works have historical backdrops. No Safe Harbour takes place during the great Halifax explosion of 1917. This book won the Hackmatack Award and is one of 5 books she has written for the Dear Canada series. In 2016 her novel Whit Jade Tiger, inspired by a trip to China, won the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Prize. (2018)

née Russell. Born April 15, 1909, Toronto, Ontario. Died January 1, 2003. At one point Isabel changed her name to Erichsen-Brown. Isabel entered the University of Toronto (U ofT) but left in 1929 to marry Lt. Stephen Holmes Dale. The marriage ended four years later. She joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C. C. F.) and became a social activist. In 1942 she married politician and non-fiction writer Donat Marc LeBourdais (1887-1964) and the couple had four children. She worked as a journalist and continued being an activist. In 1966 Isabel published the book: The Trial of Steven Truscott, who had been wrongfully convicted of murder. The Ontario Court of Appeal in 2007 overturned Truscott's conviction calling it a miscarriage of justice. After publishing her book she became a public relations officer for the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. Source: Obituary, Bill Gladstone, Bill Gladstone Genealogy, Online (accessed 2011) 

Anna Harriette/Harriet Emma Leonowens

Born January 8, 1842*, Leslie's Corners, Upper Canada (Ontario). Died March 1, 1920, Toronto, Ontario. Like many of the well to do pre-Confederation  families in Canada, she was educated at home before her family sent her to Europe to tour. She traveled with her mother as her chaperone While she was in Holland she continued her studies in art. Returning home to Guelph, Ontario she taught art and began writing. Her writings that would be her legacy. She would publish  three books including The Cromaboo Mail Carrier in 1878 under the name of James Thomas Jones. This book was banned in nearby Erin, Ontario  because its outspokenness offended some of the local citizens. She would also use the pen name J. T. J. The following year David Jones's Locker appeared in serial form in the Clifford Arrow which also published in 1881, Absolutely Her Own Mistress.  She had hoped the Ontario Department of Education would use her two volumes of poetry but this did not happen. She also penned The Kings and Queens of England in 1896 and Historical Sketches of Scotland in 1905. Book sales were not that successful either and she lost her house and moved to Rockwood to live with her sister. After her sisters death she moved to Fergus, Ontario and wintered in Toronto. She died in poverty. * Reports of birth date are inconsistent   Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online; Not on find a grave 2025

Born Eskilstuna, Sweden. Loris immigrated to Canada with her family as a child. She kept notes in journals which she illustrated on every topic. She loved to write and draw she even wrote poetry. After a formal university education proved be be not what she wanted she took a job at a printing company and was exposed properly to graphic arts. She is totally self-taught as an illustrator  and has worked as a freelance designer. She continued her writing as she had always loved it. It was only after attending a story makers conference in 1991 that she gained confidence to do something with her scribbling. She formed a relationship with Annick Publishing and has not looked back. “Nothing beats a Pizza was a Mr. Christie’s Award honour book. Her works include Boy Soup, Catmagic, Night school and many more. Check out your Public Library for more of her books. Source: Loris Lesynski by Dave Jenkinson CM Magazine

Born 1953, Edmonton, Alberta. Shar graduated from the University of Alberta. She began graduated studies but would you believe she hated writing and did not complete her thesis! She began her working career working first for the City of Calgary and then worked for a major trade union in British Columbia. Not liking her job she quite and became an entrepreneur opening a toy  store, Einstein's the Science Centre, Ltd. in 1887. The store won an international award from Playthings Magazine for store design. She told a book representative that she could do better than most of the books on the market. She never looked back. Shar is known as the Science Lady when she does presentations at schools and writer's festivals or library conventions. She was also the author of a column Business in Vancouver which worked into a local TV segment. In 1993 she earned the Our Choice Award from the Canadian Children's Book Centre and the next year she earned the National Parenting Publication Award. !995, 1997, 1998, & 2001 saw more Our Choice Awards. In 2006 she and her co-author Leslie Johnstone were recipients of the Eve Savory Award for Science Communications from the British Columbia Innovation Award for the book Backyard Science.  In 2011 , 2012, 2013, 2014 the Canadian Children's Book Centre gave her Best Book Awards. In 2014 she was the winner of Science in Society Youth Book Award. In 2015 the University of Alberta presented her with the Alumni of Honour Award. In 2016 she was inducted into the Order of Canada for her over 70 children's books encouraging science studies for children. (2019)

Born 1928, Toronto, Ontario. Norma would spend her childhood on Manitoulin Island, and teenage years in Muskoka, Ontario.  Linder is the author of 5 novels, 13 collections of poetry, a memoir of Manitoulin Island, a children’s book, a collection or short stories, and a biography of Pauline McGibbon entitled: Pauline with the 1st edition 1979.  She was on the faculty of Lambton College in Sarnia, teaching English and Creative Writing. Her poems and short stories have appeared in a multitude of contemporary Canadian Magazines including Chatelaine and  Our Canada. For 7 years she wrote a monthly column for the Sarnia Observer, and she is a regular contributor to “Daytripping in Southern Ontario”. She is Past President of the Sarnia Branch of the Canadian Authors Assoc. She is married and has three children.

Born January 2, 1932, Formosa (Taiwan) China. Died April 6, 2020, Guelph, Ontario. When her doctor parents realized that baby Jean had severe site problems they moved to Canada. Although legally blind she completed her BA at the University of Toronto and trained as a special education teacher. Jean  always knew she would be a writer but she also felt that she had to work at a real job to make a living. She soon gave up being a teacher to be a full time writer. She has written some 25 children’s books and two autobiographies: Little by Little in1987 and Stars Come Out within (in 990. Jean's first book, Mine for Keeps, won the Little Brown Children's Book Award in 1962 and was republished by Viking Penguin in 1995. She also won a number of additional awards, including a Canadian Library Association (C L A) Book of the Year Medal, the Vicky Metcalf Award, a Canada Council Children's Literature Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, and the Mr. Christie’s Book Award. Her books have attracted an international readership and have been translated into several different languages including Korean. Jean lived with her talking computer, her seeing eye dog, several collected family members, and a menagerie of pets including dogs, cats, birds, and turtles. Her advice to young people of the world “Always remember that  the best place for your nose is inside a book.” Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, online; Obituary, Publishers weekly, online (accessed 2020)

Born October 10, 1850, Stratford, Ontario. Died August 26, 1918, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Ruby marries Robert Smith (1838-1885), a widower with three children, July 25, 1876. When Robert was appointed to the Supreme Court of  Manitoba she remained home to care for her step children and their two sons. Sadly Robert died six months later and Ruby went to home to Stratford with her tow sons. She, and her sister Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars, co-authored several historical works including  a history work: In the Days of the Canada Company (Toronto, 1896). She served on the executive of the Ontario Music Teacher's Association. Some of her papers are retained by the University of Western Ontario (now Western University), London, Ontario. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

Born June 28, 1863, Stratford, Ontario.  Died April 20, 1931, Toronto, Ontario. Kathleen was educated in Toronto and also studied in Scotland. With her sister, Robina 'Ruby' Alison Lizars-Smith, she wrote several books including a history: In the Days of the Canada Company (Toronto, 1896). She also published on her own a historical work, The Valley of the Humber (Toronto, 1913.) She worked as private secretary to John Roberts (1824-1892), premier of British Columbia and would travel with him through Europe. She spent several summers in England. Some of her papers are maintained at the Archives and Special Collections Western University, London Ontario.  Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

née MacFarlane. Born May 26, 1851, St. John, New Brunswick. Died March 9,1933, Montreal, Quebec. While Annie's brothers would all attend the University of New Brunswick, as a woman she could not so, like many young women of her era she  attended the Normal School (teacher's college) in Fredericton to become a teacher.  She would live in New York State, U.S.A. where she had some of her writings published in Scribner's and the Saturday Evening Post. She also worked as literary critic for The Nation in Montreal. While with this publication she penned a series of sketches on French Canadians and went on to published in The Story of Canada and Stories of Nations series. She married John Edward Logan (1852-1915) a Canadian insurance adjuster and settled in Montreal. Using the pseudonym Barry Dane she continued to contribute to The Nation. While in Montreal she published a novel, The Children of the Earth, as well as An Account of the Explorations and Discoveries of Samuel De Champlain, and the Founding of Quebec. In 1929 she established the Stuart MacFarlane scholarship at the University of New Brunswick to honour her brother. Source Early Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2022)

Born December 24, 1914, Midland, Ontario. Died January 29, 2011, Hawkestone, Ontario. Loreen was a survivor right from the get go! She survived the influenza epidemic of 1918, falling through the ice on Little Lake, The Great depression, Hurricane Hazel, and the fire that took the family livelihood. She raised eight children and cared for her elderly parents in the family home. She was one of the first women in Ontario to obtain her Real Estate Broker’s License and her insurance agent’s license. She was a lifelong volunteer giving her time to many projects and organizations such as the Oro Historical Society, the Simcoe County Museum, and she worked tirelessly with others to make sure swimming lessons were available to the local children. Loreen shared her life experiences in publications such as the Orillia Packet Times and the Curious Daytripper. At the age of 80 she learned to use a computer and subsequently wrote and illustrated six  books based upon recollections from her life. In 1992 she received the 125th Anniversary of Confederation of Canada Medal, followed in 1993 with being the Citizen of the Year in Oro Township. In 2005 she was woman of the year of the Orillia Business Women’s Association. Sources: The Orillia Packet.

née Swoboda. Born December 28, 1928, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.  Died June 26, 2017, Ottawa, Ontario. When still and infant the Swoboda family relocated to Vermont, U.S.A. , in in 1938 they relocated to New York City, U.S.A. In 1946 Janet attended Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario where she married a fellow student, Richard Lunn. The couple had five children. In 1955 the family settled in Toronto. Janet began writing stories and sent them to children's magazines.  She became an author of 18 books of historical fiction for young readers. Janet's writings have won the Canada Council Prize (1979 and 1988), the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children (1981 & 1988), the Ruth Schwartz Award (1988), the Information Book Award ( 1995), the Mr. Christie's Book Award ( 1995), and the Governor General's Award ( 1998) For all her efforts she received the Vicky Metcalf Award in 1982 which recognizes authors who have inspired youth. She has the ability to transform avid research into a real time machine for young readers. She assures her readers that she does have a ghost in her house and his story is written up in her book The Root Cellar published in 1981. In 1997 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. Source: Obituary, by Dory Cerny, Quill & Quire, June 28, 2017, Online (accessed 2018)

Born July 31, 1908, Banff, Alberta. Died June 22, 1995. Eleanor attended the University of Alberta, (U of A), Edmonton. During her time at university she worked as a librarian for the student newspaper, The Gateway. She also served on the Women's Disciplinary Committee and was a member of the Delta Delta sorority. She graduated in 1930 and went on to earn her high school teaching certificate from the University in 1932. She also went on to her her Master Degree from the University of Alberta. By 1933 she was back home in Banff for the summer taking the U of A's Department of Extension summer drama course. She taught a year in Sexsmith, Alberta and then taught at the Banff Public School until 1940. In 1937 the travelled to Japan, China and Hawaii in the U.S.A. In 1939 she travelled again this time to Panama and again to Hawaii. In 1940 she relocated to Ottawa and taught at Elmwood Private school. She was hospitalized with exhaustion and headaches. In 1941 she took a machine drafting course at the Ottawa Technical High School which she found stimulating.  Moving to Montreal in the summer of 1941 she worked with the Canadian Pacific Railway (C P R) designing locomotives and while there earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in engineering from Sir George Williams College (now Concordia University) graduating in 1946.  She was hospitalized once again and diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Returning to Banff in 1946 and by 1950 she was at the Spears Sanitarium, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.  Once more back in Montreal in 1950 working as a lecturer and as an instructor at McGill University.  In her spare time she learned Germany  and wrote a manuscript that was published in 2015 called Latch String Out, which told the story of her maternal grandmother. In 1956 she was working as a field researcher with the Glenbow Foundation, Calgary, Alberta and collected information from old diaries, letters, leases, and maps held in archives, museums, art galleries and personal collections. She also spent a lot of time on the road conducting personal interviews to collect history's stories. She was a welcome lecturer with the Alberta Old Timers' Association, the Women's Canadian Club, the High Rivers Pioneers, the Teacher's Association and the Southern Alberta Pioneers. In 1959 she was in hospital for several months for a spinal fusion. She also had back surgery in 1961 and 1962. After the death of her parents in the 1960's she settled in Banff. In 1971 she published her father's diaries, Luxton's Pacific Crossing.  In 1975 she published her own book, Banff, Canada's First National Park. In 1985 she had open heart surgery. In 1994 she was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. She went on to establish the Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation to help preserve her family home in Banff. Source: Eleanor Luxton, Town of Banff. online (accessed 2023)

née Lesek. Born 1910, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Died 1995. Educated at the University of Manitoba she worked as a nurse, a school teacher and a Journalist at various times in her varied career. She sometimes used the name Luba Novak for her writings. Her work tended to confound standard critical categories and has therefore been much neglected as Canadian writer. Source: Memorable Manitobans online

née Lyons. Born November 6, 1878, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Died September 20, 1965, Ottawa, Ontario. Madge attended Hellmuth Ladies' College, London, Ontario. After graduation she played the mandolin in and toured in Maryland from 1899-1901. In 1901 she married Charles William Macbeth, a Canadian civil Engineer. The couple lived first in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. before settling in Ottawa. By 1908 she was a widow with two small sons to raise. She turned to writing to support her small family. She was one of the first travel writers and she constantly had a notebook in her hands and she wrote about everything she saw. . She would have to her career credit some 20 novels, two autobiographies, biographies. travel books and hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles. She also enjoyed radio writing and by 1938 she had written several radio plays, one with 24 episodes! She believed in supporting her profession and was a popular and willing speaker at many events. She was also a president of the Ottawa Branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club (C W P C). Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online: Media Club (formerly C W P C) of Ottawa.

née Roberts. Born February 17, 1864, Westcock, New Brunswick. Died November 8, 1922, Ottawa, Ontario. The sister of the famous author Sir Charles C.D. Roberts (1860-1943), Jane attended the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.  She would publish some poetry in literary magazines of the day such as The Century, The Independent, and Outing Magazine. In 1885 her father published a book of her poems called simply Poems. She worked as a teacher at the School of the Blind in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Resigning from her teaching position, she married her cousin Samuel Archibald Roberts MacDonald in 1896. In 1889 she brother Charles submitted her poetry to an anthology called Songs for the Great Dominion. Her works were also included in a family collection of poems called Northern Lyrics in 1889 She wrote a children's book, Our Little Canadian Cousin, published in Boston, 1904 and Dream Verses and Other, Boston, 1906. Some of her short stories were published in New York Churchman and Peterson's. In 1912 she moved with her family to Nelson, British Columbia and by 1914 she was living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After the breakdown of her marriage in 1915 she and her sons settled in Ottawa, Ontario. Source" Bone, Nigel Alexander and Laura Hennebury , 'Jane Elizabeth MacDonald', New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia. 2009 (accessed 2024)

Born 1853. Died November 24, 1924. She was educated in Toronto, Ontario. She wrote several stories for magazines such as the Popular Science Monthly.  She published a novel Diane of Ville Marie; A Romance of French Canada published in Toronto, 1898. (2019)

née Miller. Born August 27, 1872, Rudgby, Ontario. Died February 10, 1961, Owen Sound, Ontario. Mary earned her teacher's certificate at the Toronto Normal School in 1896. She taught for seven years in Orillia, Ontario. She began writing about 1905 and would write a column in the Teacher's Monthly as well as working on the editorial staff for publications for Sunday school in the Presbyterian church. She used the pen name Esther miller, part of her real name, but when she found out that this name was already being used she wrote under the name Marion Keith. In 1909 she married Donald MacGregor and the couple moved around in the area to accommodate Donald's church postings. Mary penned seven novels while living in London, Ontario. Her novels provide background insight both into urban and rural life of her era. She also wrote several biographies including Courageous Women, which she wrote with Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) who was a personal friend. The MacGregors retired to a farm on the Georgian Bay. Source: Early Canadian Women Authors, Online (accessed 2020)

Born January 23, 1837, Kingston, Canada West (now Ontario). Died January 24, 1927, Kingston, Ontario. Educated in Kingston Agnes would show her skills as a writer under the pen names 'Fidelis', 'Miss Machar', and "A Lady of Ontario'. She would published novels and historical works as well as collections of prose and poetry. For her early work Katie Johnston's Cross (Toronto, 1870) she would receive a prize for the best children's Sunday School Fiction. Among her several works were The Story of Old Kingston (Toronto, 1908) and Stories of the British Empire (Toronto,1913).  In 1873 she wrote with her mother, Memoirs of the Rev. John Machar (Toronto, 1873) Her writings did not masque her views as a Christian, a nationalist, a feminist, and a social crusader. (2020)

née Bacchus Born December 21, 1930. Died August 11, 2013. At the age of 8 she started her own community newspaper. She won scholarships and earned her BA in Political Sciences at the University of Toronto. She married Jackson Mackay and the couple have three sons. She wrote her 1st book Mini Bike Hero for her son and on a whim submitted it in a contest run by Scholastic Books. She had a great since of humor combined with the ability to be a true wordsmith. She had a love for dictionaries and would always find the right word to spice up her writing. He would write 11 children’s and young adult fiction and non fiction books. Her writing garnered her the Vicky Metcalf Award for her body of work and the Ruth Schwartz Award for One Proud Summer. She was a co-founder of the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers. She felt strongly about encouraging young authors and she wrote fan letters to authors publishing their 1st book for young readers. Source: “Children’s Author CANSCAIP Co-founder Claire Mackey Dies” by Sue Carter Flin, Quill& Quire, August 13, 2013 ; Obituary, Globe and Mail, August 17, 2013.

née Macpherson. Born November 24, 1875, Woodstock, Ontario. Died August 15, 1928, Vancouver, British Columbia. As a child growing up Belle was a champion highland dancer. While still in school some of her writings appeared in school publications. By the time she was 15 she had poems and short stories published in Canadian newspapers and magazines. As a contributor to the Woodstock Daily Express from 1890 to 1900 she used the pen name 'Heather'. One of her stories 'Miss Witterly's China' was published as a pamphlet for the Women's Missionary Society in 1896. In 1895 she married Peter J. MacKay and the couple had three daughters. In 1898 the Woodstock Public Library published her first book of poems, Pansies for Thoughts.  In 1909 the family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. As a poet she would published some three volumes of verse, including a volume for children. She would win the Toronto Globe's prize for best poem on an historical subject in 1907 and again in 1910.  She published short stories and some seven novels with her first novel, The House of Windows, published in 1912. Belle was a prominent worker with the Canadian Women's Press Club (C W P C) where she served as of the Vancouver branch in 1910.  From 1913-1916 she was president of the provincial C W P C and Alberta. the first president of. As a playwright she wrote a number of plays which have been produced in Canada and the United States. Her recognition as a prominent Canadian author was displayed when her obituary was published on the front page of the Toronto Globe. Source; D C B (2022)

Born May 2, 1881, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died August 6, 1929, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Her family settled in Butte Montana, U.S.A.. In 1902 she penned an autobiography The Story of Mary MacLane which sold across North America but was banned in Boston. She attempted to attend Radcliffe College, Boston but did not have any scholarships and was refused entry to the college. She settled in New York City, U.S.A. returning home to Montana when she had scarlet fever in 1911. Here she wrote her last novel I Mary MacLane published in 1917. It was during this time that she was invited to become a Hollywood screenwriter and an actor. She was accused of stealing some expensive wardrobe dresses and never recovered trying to pay for the  costumes. She died destitute and being cared for by her companion Harriet Williams. Source: Women Film Pioneers Project (accessed 2019).

Born January 7, 1920, Guelph, Ontario. Died March 13, 2020, Findhorn, United Kingdom. Dorothy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University), London, Ontario. By 1941 she was working for the British Security Coordination in New York City, U.S.A. While posted to Panama she met and married John Wood but the couple divorced in 1951. She lived in England during the 1950's where she met friends involved in spiritual practices. Soon she was working with her friends at their hotel in Scotland. In 1954 Dorothy had her first experience of the God within, which she called a 'vast unity'. In 1972 Dorothy and her friends Sheena Govan, and Peter Caddy founded the Findhorn Foundation, a charitable trust and spiritual community. Leaving the group the following year Dorothy founded an educational organization the Lorian Association, a spiritual education community  in North America. Her third book, To Hear the Angels Sing, 1980,  gave an overview of work at Findhorn. A later full length biography Memoirs of an Ordinary Mystic, her tenth book was published in 2010. She is perhaps best known for her descriptions of contacts with the consciousnesses of nature which she called 'divas', a formless energy field which she believed oversee the pattern and growth of all forms and embodiments of creative intelligence. In 2010 she returned to Findhorn in Scotland to retire from public life. The Ontario Heritage Act had designated her childhood home in Guelph as a heritage property. Source: Findhorn Foundation's Founder Dorothy Maclean dies aged 100, By Alistair Whitfield March 13, 2020, Forres Gazette, Online (accessed 2020)

Author & Historian

 

née Ramsay. Born March 31, 1867, Malpeque, Prince Edward Island. Died March 2, 1932, Summerside, Prince Edward Island. After Ada's family relocated to Summerside in the 1870's she completed her formal education at the Prince of Wales College, Charlottetown graduating at the top of her class. She taught school until December 28, 1886 when she married Neil Macleod (died 1934). The couple had eight sons. She was active in the Womens' Missionary Societies of her Presbyterian Church and after 1925 the United Church of Canada. She also was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance  Union (WCTU) and The Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E)  where she served as Regent of local group from 1915-1920. She was also a staunch supporter of the Summerside Library and the Canadian Handicrafts Guild.  She would publish numerous articles of Scottish and local P. E. I. history in the Canadian Magazine, the Dalhousie Review, Maclean's Magazine, the New England Magazine, and various P.E.I. newspapers. The I O D E would raise funds with one of her local history publications. Sadly two of their sons were killed during World War l and Ada would spend time in hospital in Montreal. Source: E C W W, Online (accessed 2020); D C B Online

Annie began studying at McGill University, Montreal in 1904. After earning her Bachelor and Master degrees in 1910 she graduated as the first woman with a Doctorate from McGill. Her degree was in chemistry. After completing her studies she taught at Vassar College for women, Poughkeepsie, New York and at Syracuse University, New York, U.S.A. She also authored several books on chemistry, nutrition and well being. Source: Highlights from McGill theses and dissertations. online (accessed 2021)

Born October 21, 1958, Thornhill, Ontario. Elizabeth attended the University of Toronto where she studies sciences. After university she backpacked through Europe for a year and returned to work at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. One summer she attended the Banff School Publishing Workshop in Alberta. Returning home she had a contact from the course approach her to work at Owl Magazine, the Canadian publication for young children. To supplement her Owl income she wrote for the text book publishing company, Grolier as well as the Owl book publishing group. Leaving Owl in 1989 she worked for a software company which taught her that she would rather be publishing books. Working with Kids Can Press she has written biographies of famous people as well as the Kids Book of Great Canadians published in 2004. That same year her work on Helen Keller won the Society of School Librarian International Honour Book designation. She has also published in 2006 the Kids Book of Great Canadian Women. Since Elizabeth also enjoys being in the kitchen she has used her love of baking to produce several books for youth  including Bake and Make Amazing Cakes and Gifts to Make and Eat. Sources: Elizabeth MacLeod by Dave Jenkinson CM Magazine, University of Manitoba, 2006 Online (accessed January 2007)

née MacMillan, Born July 3, 1880, Issac's Harbour, Nova Scotia. Died August 25, 1948, Bedford, Nova Scotia. Bessie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Acadia University in Nova Scotia in 1902. After graduation she taught at the Acadia Ladies Seminary, She left her position in 1905 to marry Dr. Vernon Laurie Miller (1878-1926) and the couple had two sons. Using the name E. Marguerite Cary she published her first novel, A Jumble Jar, in 1928. She also published numerous pamphlets and in 1945 she produced My String of Pearls. Source Early  Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2022)

née McElroy. Born February 27, 1931, Regina, Saskatchewan. Died November 17, 2018. In 1954 Margaret was the first woman to received a Bachelor of Interior Design from the University of Manitoba. She married Robert Nichol in May (died 2012) and the couple had three children. She practiced first in Regina, then London, Ontario, and finally settling in Toronto where she worked with the Ontario Architectural Inventory at the University of Toronto (U of T).  She would become an author of Canadian social history, heritage buildings, and architecture. Along with Mary Byers she co-authored six social histories. She wrote The Great Adventure: The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto and edited It's All About Kindness; Remembering June Callwood. She was a founder and board member of the Casey House Hospice  for Aid's sufferers. She was the building renovation Project Manager, coordinating six volunteer design teams, as well as the electrical, mechanical, and general contractors. She married a second time to Donald Rodwell Austin in June 1995. In 1996 she earned The Ontario Association of Architects Allied Arts Award. She served as president 1998-2000 of the Toronto Arts and Letters Club, Director of the Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation, editor of the Ontario Heritage Connection as well as a board member of the Trinity Home Hospice, Toronto Preservation Board, Theatre Museum and the Cabbagetown Heritage Committee. After her son was badly burned from fireworks she led a successful national campaign to pan penny firecrackers in Canada. After her son was killed by a drunk driver she campaigned to tighten the national laws on drunk driving. She was also stepmother  to three step daughters with her companion Robert Beardsley (died 2017).  Source Canadian who's Who 2000. Obituary, Online (accessed 2018)

Born March 11, 1952, Montreal, Quebec. Died February 6, 2017, Toronto, Ontario. Norah studied history to earn a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, Montreal. Relocating to Toronto she married Herman Rosenfeld and the couple had two daughters. She was a member of the Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers and Crime Writers, Canada. From 200 through to 2015 she wrote 33 young adult fiction books. In total she wrote more than 60 books. She wrote the Robyn Hunter Mysteries, Chloe and Levesque Mysteries, and Mike and Riel Mysteries published by Scholastic Publishers, the Ryan Dooley Mysteries with Red Deer press, and various other titles for Orca press. She also wrote stand along works including Dear Canada; Sea of Sorrows.  She was a five-time winner of the Crime Writers' of Canada Author Ellis Award. Source: Obituary online (accessed 2023)

Born  December 8, 1904, Wellington County, Ontario. After graduating high school, Ruth attended the Toronto Normal School (teacher's college) and then taught successively in the continuation schools at Aberfoyle and Wroxeter. She graduated from Queen's University in 1930 with honours in English and History, after which she obtained a  Degree in Library Science from the University of Toronto (U of T). She worked as a reference librarian in the Toronto Public Library until 1943 when she became editor and research director for National Farm Radio Forum, responsible for the study bulletin Farm Forum Guide. In 1954 she joined the Citizenship Branch of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration where she edited the bimonthly periodical Citizen. After an early retirement, Ruth McKenzie began her career as a freelance writer, editor, and researcher. Her articles appeared in the Canadian Geographic Journal, Chatelaine, the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, the Canadian Encyclopedia and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. She has written the following books: Leeds and Grenville, Their First Two Hundred Years, 1967; Laura Secord, the Legend and the Lady, 1971; James FitzGibbon, Defender of Upper Canada, 1983; and she edited The St. Lawrence Survey Journals of Henry Wolsey Bayfield, two volumes, (Champlain Society,1984 and 1986)

Born 1859, Hamilton, Canada West (Ontario). Died November 17, 1938. A prolific writer for her day, many of her works were meant to provide information and biographical data for her readers. The making of Mary (New York, 1895) was followed with A Book About Shakespeare (New York, 1898) and Canada (New York, 1899) She would also write Sir Frederick Haldimand (Toronto, 1904) among others.

Born January 29, 1954, Montreal, Quebec. As a child books were her constant companions during summer vacation in the Laurentians. After the family home was sold when she was 13 she would spend her summers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. While at Dawson College in Quebec she met and married David McKay. The couple have two sons. She attended Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec and switched to York University, Toronto. She wrote articles on parenting for a local newspaper and built up her portfolio of work. She used this to gain a writing position at the Toronto Star newspaper. Her 1st book was Streetproofing Gently and Creatively but she feels it was ‘horrible’ In 1993 she went to a publisher asking about enlarging chalk and published Chalk Around the Block. This was followed by several activity books, all of which were tested before publishing by her husband’s cub and scout groups. In 2001 she was writing for Penquin publishing series for Canadian Girls with Penelope: Terror in the Harbour. Other historical novels for young readers followed. Ester, the story of a Jewish girl in New France was published in 2004. In 2009 she was named as a Canadian War Artist. This institution goes back to World War l and has honored many noted artists. Sharon is the 1st young adult writer to have this title. She traveled to Afghanistan in 2009 and was inspired to write Thunder of Kandahar, published in 2010. In 2013 War Brothers: the Graphic Novel tells the story of child soldiers in northern Uganda. Living with her family in Israel she was able to research her book End of the Line a novel for middle grade readers about Nazi occupation of Holland in World War ll published in 2014.

Born 1953, Toronto, Ontario. Janet always remembers loving to write producing stories from the time she was 11 years old. Janet studied at the York University, Toronto earning her BA in 1973. By 1983 she had earned a Master’s Degree from Memorial University in Newfoundland followed in 1989 with a PhD in folklore from Memorial. She married professor Michael Wallack and the couple had one daughter. After her university studies she wrote for magazines, usually articles on gardening and the environment. She then took over a weekly newspaper column reviewing children’s books and then reviewed books for magazines. Her 1st book Catch Me once Catch Me Twice was published in 1994. Her second book To Dance at the Palais Royal would win three awards. Janet is an active member with the Writers’ Union of Canada, the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland where she served for a time as president and Labrador and the Canadian Book Centre. (2018)

Born September 30, 1954, Ajax, Ontario. She put herself through Concordia University with night classes while working in  cash management for a large paper company. After university she married Bob McNicoll and the couple have three children. She attempted to write short stories and had household hint articles published in the local newspaper in Burlington, Ontario. She took a children’s writing course at Sheridan College and wrote her 1st novel Blueberries and Whipped Cream in class. After publishing nine books at her own she returned to Sheridan College as a teacher. For eight years she edited Today’s Parent magazine from Toronto. She has served as a Director on the Board for Access Copyright. She has also spent time writing profiles of authors for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Her book Dying to Go Viral was a great hit in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Germany before it came to Canada. Her book What the Dog Says is also available in foreign languages. Her works have won several awards including the Silver Birch and Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award in 1996, the Explora-toy Best Novel for Caught in a Lie in 2000, The Hamilton Arts Multimedia Award in 2007 and the 2011 Arts Hamilton Award.

Born June 9, 1929, Montreal, Quebec. Died February 5, 2015, Montreal, Quebec. . Louise studied music at the Conservatoire de musique et d'art dramatique du Quebec and then from 52 to 1954 she studied in Paris, France. In 1959 she began to concentrate on writing.  In 1963 her 1st novel was awarded the Prix du Cercle du livre de France.  She wrote of the then critical theme of lesbianism. She continued to write novels and branched out to short stories and scripts for films for TV. In 1974 she was named writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa. In 1985 she was named to the Royal Society of Canada and in 1986 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. Source: Déces de L'auteure Louise Maheux-Forcier, 7, février, 2015, Le Devoir.(acedé 2018)

Born June 7, 1921, Montreal, Quebec. Died December 3, 1995, Montreal, Quebec. Andrée enjoyed writing and embraced it at the age of 11. From 1943 through 1952 she had a career as a journalist. From 1952 through to 1960 she was director of the magazine Amérique français and a columnist for the Petit journal. She became the founder of the French Canadian chapter of PEN Club. She married Lloyd Hobden. In 1966 she ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for provincial election in Quebec for the Rassemblement pour l’independence Nationals in the Westmount area of Montreal. In 1974 she was named to the Académie des lettres du Québec and in 1978 she was inducted into the Order of Canada.  In 1990 she earned the Prix Athanase-David. The following year she became a Grand Officer in the National Order of Quebec. She would publish a total of 7 works consisting of collections of poems, short stories and four novels. Source:  Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada by William H. New, 2002. p. 701

Born May 10, 1929, Buctouche, New Brunswick. Died February, 2025, Montreal, Quebec. In 1950 Antonine earned her Bachelor of Arts from the College Notre-Dame d'Acadie. She continued her education by earning her Master's degree from the Université de Moncton, New Brunswick in 1959. From 1954 through 1960 she taught literature and folklore at the college and then she taught for two years at the University of Moncton. She also taught at the College de Jésuites de Québec, the Université Laval, and the University of Montreal  She began writing while still a Master's student publishing her 1st work Pointe-aux-Coques in 1958.  By 1971 she had earned her PhD in literature from the Université Laval, Quebec City. She worked for Radio Canada in Moncton as a scriptwriter and host. A storyteller supreme, this novelist is most famous for her French language work La Sagouine which is rich in Acadian heritage. This novel has been made into a very popular one-person play. Linda Evangelista.   In 1976 she was inducted as an Officer into the Order of Canada and was promoted to a Companion of the Order in 1981.In 1979 her work Pélagie-la-Charrette won the Prix Goncourt for the best and most imaginative prose work of the year, making her the 1st non-European recipient. In 1980 the Royal Society of Canada presented her with the Lorne Pierce Medal. Five years later she was made an Officier des arts et des lettres de France. In 1992 she became a member of the Queen's Privy Council allowing her the right to use the prefix 'The Honourable'.  From 1989 to 2000 she served as chancellor of the Université de Moncton. In 2005 she received the Order of New Brunswick. Source: It's a very sad day: N.B. Mourns loss of novelist,playwright Antonine Maillet, by Isabelle Léger, C B C News February 17, 2025, online (accessed 2025)

Adventurer

Born in the U.S.A. A college professor from Kansas she married T. Joseph Mandy a mines engineer and amateur photographer. The couple loved the western Canadian northland. Madge would write of their experiences trekking across the area in the 1930’s and with reprints in the 1990’s the books effects are still being felt. The book was : Our Trail led Northwest: true trail romance and adventure in British Columbia. (Reprinted Surrey, B.C.: Heritage House 1992.) Madge Lake, Madge Mountain were both named for this adventurer. The town of Burnaby , British Columbia boasts of Madge Ave., named in her honour. Source: Herstory: The Canadian Women’s Calendar 2000. (Silver Anniversary Edition) Coteau Books, 1999. Page 12.

née Mann. Born April 24, 1918, Munich, Germany. Died February 8, 2002, St Morita, Switzerland. From 1959 through 1961 Elisabeth published six books of fiction. Elisabeth was an internationally recognized expert on maritime law and policy and the protection of the environment who organized the 1st conference on the law and the sea in Malta in 1970. From 1973 to 1982 she was part of an expert group of the Austrian delegation during the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In 1970 she published the Drama of the Oceans. In 1977 Dalhousie University, Halifax invited her to be a Professor of Political Science. She published Seafarm: the Story of Aquaculture in 1980. She published in 1998 the Oceanic Circle. She continued teaching at Dalhousie until she was 80.  She was on a ski vacation in Switzerland when she died. Source: Special Collections, Dalhousie University, Online (accessed 2019)

Born July 2, 1950. Died November 2, 2021. Maracle grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Her first career was that of a stand up comedian and this evolved into being a filmmaker. She is best know however for her poetry., short stories, novels and collaborative anthologies which address a wide range of Indigenous issues. In the fall of 2021 she joined the faculty of Kwatlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia to teach Indigenous studies. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia.

SEE -  Mabel Annesley Johnston.

née Parkin. Born 1879, Fredericton, New Brunswick  Died July 29, 1950, Port Hope, Ontario. Lal became the wife  wife of Canada's first Canadian Born Governor General, Charles Vincent Massey (1897-1967) in 1915. The couple had two children. She kept  busy with an extremely active social life that was required of the family she had married into. She did have an interest in women's roles in modern society and was author of Occupations for Trained Women in Canada published in London in 1920. Source: Find a Grave Online

Born November 14, 1949, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She went to theatre school and acted in Toronto before discovering her talent for writing children's books. She enjoys writing fantasy. She also has taken what she considered an important story about the treatment of Jews in World War ll and written a book so that Canadian youth would know what happened. Her books have won the Geoffrey Bilson Award ( 1987), the Silver Birch Award (1993) and the Red Maple Award( 1996).

née Maxwell. Born September 29, 1948, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died July 30, 2005, Toronto, Ontario. Liz attended Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and earned a Master’s Degree, in Education, from the University of Toronto (U of T). She taught high School in Fenelon Falls, Ontario, where she lived with her first husband Jim Webster and the couple had three children. She later married Mike Trusz and became stepmother to his three children. In 1992 she received a liver transplant which allowed her an additional thirteen years with her family. She participated in the 1997 transplant games in Australia earning a Silver Medal. She travelled to the Greek Islands, France, and throughout North America. It was at this time she began writing. She also was a will speaker on behalf of the organ donor program. Her book: Stories and Memoirs from her journey was published friends in her writing club and proceeds from the sale of the book support liver transplants. Source: Obituary, August 2, 2005, Globe and Mail, Online (accessed 2007)

Born Cowessess First Nations Reserve, Saskatchewan. After school Gloria became a teacher and taught public school in the Regina, Saskatchewan area from 1962 to 1983. She is a staunch supporter of libraries and has served as a Trustee on her local library Board, She has also served as a Director of Aboriginal Education. She is the author of Gifted to Learn: a Memoir in 2004. In 2005 she was the recipient of the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal. She has also published stories in her book Adam's Tree. She retired to Nanoose Bay, British Columbia.

Born 1940? Papua, New Guinea. Died March 10, 2006, Toronto, Ontario. Eleanor and her mother escaped on the last flight to leave New Guinea just before the Japanese during World War ll (1939-1945) The settled first in Australia, then moved to New Zealand before Eleanor immigrated to Canda living in Newfoundland. She had earned a degree in Physiotherapy while she was in Sydney , Australia but returned to school to earn her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto. She continued her studies to earn a Master's of Arts and the he Doctoral degree (PhD) from the University of Michigan in the U.S.A.  She used part f her inheritance from her mother to purchase a lot in Tlayacapan, Morelos, outside of Mexico City. She would return to Mexico often to remain for a couple of months during the year.  Elinor was an associate history professor at York University , Toronto and published the book A Plaque of Sheep which was a pioneering work of environmental history. She continued to teach classes at York University until her illness from Cancer prevented her from working. Source: Obituary, The Toronto Star, April 24, 2006 online (accessed 2006)

Born June 13, 1853, Guelph, Ontario. Died June 2, 1939, Toronto, Ontario. The family relocated from Guelph to Toronto. Not much is recorded on her early life. She was active in supporting her church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church as well as the Hillcrest Convalescent Hospital in Toronto. Her avocation was local history. She worked with the Pioneer and Historical Society of the Province of Ontario which as a meeting when she was the only woman in attendance she suggested be renamed the Ontario Historical Society. She was immersed in the Women’s Canadian Historical Society serving from 1897 through 1930 on the executive committee including serving some 15 years as President. She wrote papers for the WCHC and was in demand as a gifted speaker. In 1899 she worked with a group to set up a successful historic exhibition at Victoria University. She also poured her energies over the years into saving the site of Fort York from being devoured by urban commercial takeover. Another Conservation project close to her heart was the restoration of Colborne Lodge the 1837 home of artist-architect John George Howard, located near High Park. Source: D C B vol. XV Online (accessed March 2014) .

née MacMillan, Born July 3 1880, Issac's Harbour, Nova Scotia. Died August 25, 1948, Bedford, Nova Scotia. Bessie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Acadia University in Nova Scotia in 1902. After graduation she taught at the Acadia Ladies Seminary, She left her position in 1905 to marry Dr. Vernon Laurie Miller (1878-1926) and the couple had two sons. Using the name E. Marguerite Cary she published her first novel, A Jumble Jar, in 1928. She also published numerous pamphlets and in 1945 she produced My String of Pearls. Source Early Canadian Women Writers, online (accessed 2022)

Born July 8 1889, Topsail, Newfoundland. Died May 18, 1979, Topsail, Newfoundland. In 1907 Florence completed school and began working as a government telegraph operator a position she held until she retired in 1942. In 1920 she won 1st prize in Dr. Chase’s Almanac Great Diary Contest sponsored by Edamson Bates and Company. In 1921 and again in 1924 she tied for 1st place in this annual competition. For over 25 years she submitted verses to American greeting card companies such as Rust Craft Cards. She published one book of poems and had her poems appear in the Evening Telegram, the Newfound Quarterly and additional publications. In 1929 she Published In Caribou Land (Toronto: Ryerson) with a forward by the acclaimed Canadian poet E. J. Pratt. Florence was also an avid letter writer to family and friends who had moved away.  Source: The Gazette January 26, 1995. Suggestion submitted by Nora Phillips. Source: Newfoundland Heritage, online (accessed 2025)

née Sturm. Born February 5, 1915, Kitchener, Ontario. Died March 26, 1994, Montecito, California, U.S.A.. She married Kenneth Miller when she was a student studying the classics at the University of Toronto in 1938. In 1941 she penned her first novel The Invisible worm" She would write some 6 novels in her early career all of which had a Canadian setting. After 1950 her mysteries were mainly set in California where she had settled with her family. She even did the Hollywood 'thing' after world war ll when she was a screenwriter for Warner Brothers Studios. She and her husband, had a mutual enjoyment of nature and helped found a chapter of the National Audubon Society. in 1965 she was the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year. Her numerous writings are often overshadowed by the works of her husband who became a well known mystery writer under the pen name of Ross Macdonald. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2013)

See - Entertainers - Miscellaneous

née Montgomery. Born November 30, 1874, Clifton, Prince Edward Island. Died April 24, 1942, Toronto, Ontario.  It is no surprise to know that she was born in Prince Edward Island.  She would use the stories and lessons of growing up in her world famous novels about a young orphan named Anne. The Book Anne of Green Gables was 1st published in June 1908 and by November 1909 the book had already been through six printings.  the book is still enormously popular today. Later there was also Emily and Jane, new characters L.M. Montgomery would share share with the world. There have been movies, TV shows and a stage musical all produced based on the book. Actually Lucy Maude went on to publish 20 novels, over 500 short stories, 500 poems and 30 essays. Her works made Prince Edward Island a literary landmark destined to become a popular tourist site. In 1911 Lucy married a Presbyterian minister Ewen/Ewan Macdonald (1870-1943) and the couple moved to Ontario. Their home in Leaskdale is now a Museum. The couple would have three sons two of whom would live to adulthood. She was a staunch supporter of the home war effort during World War 1 (1914-1918) and lent her celebrity to recruiting Canadian soldiers. Her diaries showed that she felt tortured by the war itself. Both Ewen and Lucy would suffer from severe bouts of depression during their lives. She continued to write until 1940 when her last book, The Blythes Are Quoted was delivered to the publisher on the day she died. Her writing was a saving grace for Lucy. She was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935. In 1943 she was designated a Person of National Historic Significance.  Her diaries and papers are held in the Archives of the University of Guelph. In 1975 the Canadian Post Office issued a stamp honouring Anne of Green Gables and in 2008 a stamp was issued making the centennial of the publication. On November 30, 2015 Google honoured Lucy Maud Montgomery with a Google Doodle that was published in 12 countries.  Source: D C B; Canada Post (accessed 2008); Google (accessed 2025)

née Strickland. Born December 6, 1803, Bungay, England. Died April 8, 1885 Toronto, Ontario.  Susanna wrote her first children's book in 1822 and went on to publish other children's stories in London, England. On April 4, 1831 she married a retired military officer John Wedderburn Dunbar Moodie (1797-1869). The couple would have 7 children two of whom died as infants.  In 1832 Susanna, John and their daughter immigrated to Upper Canada settling just outside of Lakefield.  Susanna lived the difficult life of a settler in Upper Canada and she wrote about her adventures in a famous book called Roughing it in the Bush. By 1853, living in Belleville, Upper Canada, she wrote Life in the Clearings Versus the Bush. She was also an early Canadian journalist writing for the best of the Canadian literary journals of the day. She was very suspicious of the “Yankee” (American) influence on early Canada. Her sister, Catherine Parr Trail (1802-1899) was also a famous Canadian author. In 1975 the Canadian Government named her a National Historic Person. September 8, 2003 Canada Post issued as special commemorative series for the 50th anniversary of the National Library of Canada which featured Susanna and her sister. Source: D C B ( Toronto; University of Toronto Press): National Historic Persons, Government of Canada, online (accessed 2003); Canada Post, online, (accessed 2003)

Born June 27, 1816, Canada. Died 1849, Roosevelt Island, New York, U S. A.  It is rumored that Maria stuck a pencil in her ear and caused some brain damage when she was only seven years old. As a young adult, she ran off to the U.S.A. where she claimed to have been a Nun who had been sexually exploited. The newspapers and magazines picked up on her stories and in 1936 a book was published under the title of The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk or the Hidden Secrets of a Nun. The book fuelled the anti-Catholic sentiment of the era and was popular reading. A sequel to the popular first volume soon followed. Investigations into the truth of the works also followed. These later investigations would show that the premises of the books were false but the harm had been done to strengthen religious dissention. Marie herself simply drifted off to live a life that would end in an almshouse at Blackwell’s Island in New York. Source: D C B (accessed May 2008)

Born April 18, 1914, Quebec City, Quebec. Died June 18, 2014, Quebec City, Quebec. Claire was educated with the Ursulines and by the Dames de la Congrégation. By 1945 she was living in Ottawa and served as writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa. Her first novel, Avec ou sans amour come out in 1958 and it won the Prix du Cercle du livre de France. Continuing to write in French she published two more novels in 1960 and 1962. Le Quand j'aurai payé ton visage was translated into English under the title The Legacy.  More novels followed, again in French, in 1965  she won the Prix France-Québec and the Governor General's Award for French language fiction. In 1972 her final novel was adapted into a play. She left the university and relocated to France from 1972-1982 and then returned to live in Quebec City. In 1984 she became an Officer in the Order of Canada as one of the most important writers of her generation in Canada. In 2007 she was inducted as an Officer into the National Order of Quebec. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2023)

Born 1957, Ireland. Shani was raised in Trinidad, the home of her parents. As a youth she showed talents in drawing and painting and at ten she decided she would be an artist. She earned her Bachelor degree in Fine Arts at the University of Western Ontario in 1980. She would return to study for her Master's at the University of Guelph graduating in 2010. She is a multi media artist who has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia  and from 1994-1999 in New York City, New York, U.S.A. Her art has bee exhibited internationally including a showing at the New York Museum of Modern Art. Her 1st book was a collection of short stories called Out on Main Street published in 1993. She followed this in 1996 with the publication of her 1st novel, Cereus Blooms at Night. which was short listed for several awards and won the New England Book Sellers Award in 1998. Her 1st collection of poetry was published in 2002. In 2005, 2008 and again in 2014 more novels were published. She has been Writer-in-residence at the University of Alberta, the University of Guelph and the University of the West Indies in Cave Hill, Barbados. She has also written, directed and films numerous videos. She teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto. (2019)

SEE - Lily Adams Beck

February 8, 1935, St John's Newfoundland. She worked in public relations at Memorial University of Newfoundland and with the Newfoundland Teacher's association. She produced several short stories that appeared in small magazines and school textbooks. In 1992 she published her 1st novel Random Passage and followed up with a sequel in 1994 which won the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award in 1994 and the Thomas Head Raddall Award in 1995 and the Newfoundland Artist of the Year from the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. The books follow the struggles of an outport family from the early 1800's to the Cod Moratorium. These books were picked up in 2002  becoming a four-part mini series for TV that was picked up by the CBC and was also shown in Ireland. It took until 2007 for her third novel to be published. Bernice has three children. In 2012 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. (2019)

Born July 1930, Athens, Ontario. Died June 1, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1952 Audrey earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Toronto. While at university she wrote a collective biography which included Catherine Parr Trail and Susanna Moodie. Her work originally appeared in installments in Chatelaine magazine prior to being published as a separate book in 1968 under the title Gentle Pioneers: fifteen nineteenth century  Canadians.. Audrey worked as a civil servant in Ottawa at various positions including as a speech writer. Re locating to Winnipeg she worked as a consultant in her own business, Morris Associates doing career consulting. She also wrote a business section column in the Winnipeg Free Press. Source: Obituary, Toronto Globe and Mail July 19, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon of Ottawa.

née Morrison. Born November 3, 1869, Beauce, Quebec. Died November 8, 1964, Toronto, Ontario. Maud is best known for her work This Canada of Ours. This was originally a comic strip series which appeared in various Canadian publications between May 1925 and May 1929. The illustrations in the publications were done my Maud’s brother John Stewart Morrison. J. S. Morrison is given first place on the published book which appeared in a boxed publication in 1929. This volume covered up to the time of Count Frontenac and was to be followed by a second volume. In 1937 an much less fancy edition that covered Canadian history up to world war l was published. It was revised and much expanded. There is no indication why after 1929 Maud did not bring out her second volume of her original work. She writings appeared in a multitude of Canadian newspapers. Maud married Ernest Albert "Bert' Stone, an engineer and professor at the University of New Brunswick on December 31, 1901. The couple had one son. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2020)

Born Edmonton Alberta. Died February 8, 2013, Petrolia, Ontario. She married Dan Cameron and in 1960 the couple settled in Sarnia , Ontario. Hope  earned a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Western Ontario and did post graduate work in Irish literature at the University of Dublin. She authored several works of fiction, including Nahanni, a book she co-authored with Norma West Linder (1928-   ). Her works received many awards over the years, including first place in a writing competition sponsored by the Banff School of Fine Arts (now the Banff Centre), which earned her a writing scholarship. She taught creative writing at Lambton College and launched a creative writing program for gifted students. Hope was  a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada and a member of WIT (Writers in Transition) in Sarnia. Source: “Hope Morritt, local author and friend of writers, has died” By J D Booth  online (accessed February 9, 2013 )

née Gilpin. Born February 19, 1823, St. Mary's, Nova Scotia. Died May 5, 1882, Brading, Isle of Wight, England. In 1847 she married Rev. Jacob Jehosaphat Salter Mountain (1824-1910) of the Anglican Church. The couple lived in Lennoxville, Canada East. They became a missionary couple  in the area and eventually settled in Coteau-du-lac, Canada East (now Ontario),  where the couple raised their three children. In 1858 they sailed to England and the Channel Islands. She published her first novel in 1862 and the following year published second novel. Her third work, A Wreath of Rue, was published in Toronto in 1873. Source; Early Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2019) 

Born January 31, 1875, St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Died February 22, 1964, St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Grace was educated at Richmond School of Art and Music, London, England and the Women's Art School, Cooper Union, New York City, U.S.A. She taught from 1902 through 1906 at the St. Catherine's Hall in Augusta, Maine, U.S.A. In 1907 she returned to St. Andrew's to recover her health. In 1914 she founded Charlotte County Cottage Craft to provide a source of income for women and to revive  the cottage Craft Industry. In 1924 New Brunswick Creates were on exhibit at the British Empire Exhibition, Wembley, London, England. In 1934 she founded the St. Andrews Music, Art and Drama Society. She would remain as director of Charlotte County Cottage Craft until 1945. Beginning in the late 1920's Grace published accounts of local history. By the 1930's she was writing plays for the local theatre which were popular productions by the St. Andrews Music, Art, and Drama Society. Source: New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia, University of New Brunswick, Online  (accessed 2023)

Born July 27, 1940, Kolata, India. Died January 28, 2017, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A. After India's independence she travelled to Europe with her parents. In 1959 she earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calcutta, India and went on to  earn her Master's of Arts from Maharaja Sayajirai University of Baroda in 1961.  She also continued her studies at the University of Iowa in the U.S.A. receiving her Master's in Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshops in 1963 and her doctorate (PhD) from the department of Comparative Literature.  She married Clarke Blaise. The couple had two sons. The family lived for a decade in Montreal and Toronto.  In 1977 she and her husband published  Days and Nights in Calcutta. A decade later they wrote The Sorrow and the Terror: The Haunting Legacy of the Air India Tragedy (Air India Flight 182). She wrote many works of fiction and non-fiction while teaching at McGill University, Montreal, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New Your, U.S.A., Queens College, New York City, U.S.A. and City University of New York before joining the Berkeley campus if the University of California, U.S.A. Her 1988 work, The Middlemand and Other Stories,  won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2017)

née Rogers. Born December 22, 1904, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Died October 22, 1992, Manitoulin Island. While still a teenager she was teaching in a local primary school. She eventually moved to Toronto to attend formal teacher training. She began working as a director of an arts and literary society. In 1933 while on tour of Asia doing an educational survey she met and married a British army doctor. In 1940 the couple were posted in Singapore. While volunteering as an aide worker with the Australian Red Cross she became a prisoner after the Japanese invasion on December 8, 1941 and was sent with 1300 other women to Changi prison. She kept the women busy holding imaginary tea parties where the ladies pretended to be finely dressed and dining on sumptuous dishes. This exercise stimulated salvia glands helping stave off hunger pains. She also had the women quilting and hiding notes in quilt squares that went to Prisoner of War camps where many husbands where prisoners. Back in Canada after the war she completed an 800 page recipe cook book highlighting the war time tea party recipes that was sold to raise funds for British Prisoner of War hospital patients. The cookbook was republished in 2013 by the Manitoulin Historical Society. Her biography was written by Suzanne Evans and called The Taste of Longing; Ethel Mulvany and Her Starving Prisoners of War Cookbook. ** her gravestone spells the name Mulvaney.  Source: Lorraine Malinder.” Ether Roger Mulvany” in Canada’s History Magazine August-September 2016.; Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2023)

née Laidlaw. orn July 10, 1931, Wingham, Ontario. Died March 13, 2024, Port Hope, Ontario. Alice published her first short story in 1950 while a student at the University of Western Ontario (now Western University), London, Ontario. She worked to help pay for her studies as a waitress, tobacco picker, and library clerk. In 1951 she left her studies to marry Eric James Munro and the couple settled in Vancouver and then Victoria, British Columbia where a book store was opened. The couple had three children. Alice's short stories appear in magazines such as the New Yorker and The Atlantic. She has collected her stories and published numerous books of stories. A novel, Lives of Girls and Women, grew from her short stories.  She has received three Governor General’s awards for her works.  She also has won the Canada-Australia Literary Prize and the Marion Engel Award in 1996. In 1972 she became divorced and in 1976 married Gerald Fremlin (died 2013) and settled in Clinton, Ontario. Her writing continued to bring the author numerous accolades. Some the awards of recognition were in 1993 the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada,  in 2004 she earned the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction prize for her work called Runaway. In 2009 she earned the Man Booker International Prize for her writings. In 2013 she she became the first Canadian  presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature. Many of her stories have been translated into 13 different languages. In 2014 the Royal Canadian Mint issued a coin in her honour and in 2015 Canada Post Corporation issued a stamp in honour of her Nobel Prize. After her death her daughter wrote that she had been abused sexually in 1976 by her stepfather husband Gerald Fremlin, when she was nine years old. Alice had stayed with her husband even after she knew about the mistreatment of her daughter.  For the last decade of her life she suffered from dementia. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online

Born May 24, 1918, Carisbrooke, England. Died July 27,1894, Stamford, Ontario. Louisa emigrated to Canada in 1844 with her family and they became pioneers on Wolfe Island near Kingston, Ontario. She taught school as a young woman. She began to write with the encouragement of a neighbors. With the endorsement of Susanna Moodie her work Fauna, or the red flower of leafy Hollow appeared in the Literary Garland magazine in 1851 in serial format. She persevered publishing perils and loss of work to become the major Canadian prose writer of the 1870's. She also published a small number of poems. Source: D C B

Born 1941?, Collingwood, Ontario. Died July 24, 2023, Cambridge, Ontario. Rose graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She went on to teach high school English for several years before becoming marring Kent Murray and becoming a a stay at home mother for her two daughters. Her interest in cooking took her to formal studies in Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, La Varenne and Ecole de Gastronomie Française Ritz-Escoffier as well as classes in Costa Rica, Hong Kong , and Thailand. She also travelled across Canada studying food and culture of her homeland. She fished for salmon on the West coast, enjoyed sharing suppers in northern Saskatchewan, gathered wild rice in northern Ontario, picked berries in the Gaspé and dug clams in Prince Edward Island. Beginning in 1979 Rose published her first cook book called The Christmas Cookbook and which would be reprinted many times. She would write for various magazines and newspapers, including Canadian Living, Elm Street, Homemakers, City and Country Homes, Family Magazine, Harrowsmith, Epicure, Australian Woman's Day, London Magazine, The Globe and Mail and regular columns in the Toronto Star and the Cambridge Reporter. She appeared on television and helped to teach the new generations of chefs at Canadian culinary schools, including her her own cooking school in Kitchener, Ontario.  She published 11 books two of which, Canada's Favourite Recipes and Hungry for Comfort won the Taste of Canada Gold Award. In 1994 she earned the Bernice Adams Memorial Award for Communications/Literary Arts. In 2009 she was presented with the Gold Award from the Ontario Hostelry Institute and the following yea she received the Cambridge Y W C A Woman of Distinction Award for Culture.  In 2012 she earned the Culinary Historians of Canada Hall of Fame Award for her lifetime achievement in Canadian culinary writing. June 18, 2014 she received an award in the literary category at the Arts Awards Waterloo Region. Source; Obituary. online (accessed 2023)

Born 1931, Kangiqusujuaq, Quebec. Died April 30, 2007. An esteemed story teller whose stories and legends have been broadcast for years on the CBC radio she draws on her traditional upbringing. She had her feet firmly planted in both the traditions of her people and the modern worlds. As an author she is the 1st author to write a novel in the Inuktitul language, Sanaaq. The book was not published until 1984 and the French edition was published in 2002 and an English edition was published in 2014. She has translated the Roman Catholic Book of Prayer into Inuktitut so that her people my learn in their own language. She has compiled an encyclopedia of traditional Inuit knowledge, legends and natural history so that the traditional spoken knowledge may be passed to all who seek knowledge of the unique culture of her people. In 1999 she received an National Aboriginal Achievement Award for her contributions to heritage and spirituality. In 2004 she was named a Member of the Order of Canada. Source: Canadian  Encyclopedia, Online  (accessed 2019)

Born 1928, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died March 15, 2014, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Marie began a radio career at C F A B-AM in Windsor, Nova Scotia. In 1951 she married Laurie Nightingale and the couple had three sons. Marie worked as a food columnist with the Halifax Chronicle Herald newspaper, The Mail Star, and was founding food editor for Saltscapes magazine. She was the author of Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens which provided history and recipes, in 1970. The book was an instant success. In 2011 she received she received a Canadian Culinary Landmarks Hall of Fame Award for the book and for her contribution to the country's culinary history. In 1994 she earned the Edna Award  from Cuisine Canada for her promotion of regional cuisine. Thirty years later after her first book she published in 2003 Cooking With Friends. Her writing are part of the Culinary Archival Collection at the University of Guelph, Ontario. Source: Obituary, The Globe and Mail, April 7, 2014.

née Kyle. Born December 22, 1815, Ireland. Died June 20, 1873, Kingston, Ontario. In 1832 she immigrated to live in Brockville, Upper Canada (now Ontario, in 1832.  A year later she married John Vavasour Noel (1806?-1874).  Several years later they settled in Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A. where Ellen ran a ladies' seminary.  In the mid 1800's the family returned to Canada. She published a book of stories which had previously ran as serials in  Montreal and Toronto periodicals. She used the name Mrs. J. V. Noel as her pen name.  Her daughter Ellen Vavasour Noel (1836-1902) published some fictional works  in periodicals  and contributed a brief essay to her mother's book, The Abbey of Rathmore and Other Tales in 1859. Two additional companion novels were also published. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2023)

Born August 4, 1836, Kingston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died February 20, 1902, Chatham, Ontario. A few years after her birth the family moved to Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A.  where her mother Ellen Kyle Noel ran a ladies' seminary. By the mid 1850's the family was back in Canada. Ellen Vavasour published stories in serial format in such publications at the Canadian Illustrated News in Hamilton, Ontario and Montreal Quebec, at the Saturday Reader magazine. In 1859 she contributed an essay to her mother's book. Source: Early  Canadian Women  Writers, Online (accessed 2023)

Born September 6, 1900, Bergen, Norway. Died November 24, 1963, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.  Martha came with her family to Canada in 1902. She was educated in a Winnipeg high school and the University of Manitoba. She continued her education at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. While she taught school she worked on her 1st novel,” Wild Geese” in1925. She spent time as a reporter, and a social worker but still found room for her writings.  She would complete another novel. She married Douglas Durken and the couple settled in the U.S.A. She collaborated with sister Elizabeth Kenny to publish a biography called The Shall Walk in 1943. The book was later made into a movie. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2024)

Born June 4, 1958, Kapuskasing, Ontario. Jeannine attended the bilingual University of Ottawa were she earned a B.A. in Psychology followed by a Masters Degree in education. While at University she worked as a movie reviewer for the campus radio on Ellspace, a program for women on campus. On December 22, 1979 she married Guy Théroux of Kapuskasing and the couple settled in Ottawa. She was a contributed  to the national women’s magazine Femmes d’action from the Fédération nationale des femmes Canadiennes-francaises for the years. She is the co-founder of the Action Group Against Violence Against Women in Northern Ontario. She Supervised the production of TFO’s series on children who grow up in violent homes, S.O.S. Géneration en détresse and co-wrote the teacher’s guide which accompanied the television series. She has published a book on women’s learning with the University of Ottawa Press, Les femmes en milieu universitarie: liberté d’apprendre outrement. in 2000 the book won the Laura Jamieson Prize from the Canadian Institute for the Advancement of research on Women for the best feminist book by a Canadian author. She was the host of the Télèvision Rogers cable program D’hier à aujourd’hui on local Ottawa television. The program combined her interest in history and enjoyment in teaching people about their past. In 2008 she began a blog highlighting the accomplishments of milestones and mentoring women of Ottawa throughout it’s history. Embracing further the medium of the internet Jeanne has also begun in 2012 a blog highlighting the women of Northern Ontario along highway 11: Les femmes de la route 11: Elles du Nord. Source: Personal contact with Jeannine Ouellette, Ottawa, Ontario. (2020)

Laura holds a bachelor of journalism from Carleton University, Ottawa. She worked for a few years as a business reporter and as a junior magazine editor prior to becoming a freelance writer. Years ago she heard that National Geographic magazine did not hire travel writers but writers who travel and she  thought why not. I love to travel. She has not only written about traveling but she has also written about a scientist who studies the sleeping habits of lemurs and a non-profit group that trains at-risk young people to work in restaurants. She has written for more than 80 publications and websites in Canada and elsewhere. Her article have appeared not only in National Geographic Traveler but also in enRoute, Trivago, The Huffington Post, Dreamscapes, Forbes, and newspapers like the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, and the Washington Post. Laura has also spoken about travel and other topics on TVOntario, CBC Radio's Cross Country Checkup, and CTV Morning Live. the She has written or co-authored 13 books including Wanderlust: A Social History of Travel and The Environment in Contemporary Africa.

Born 1935, Madras, India. As a child she enjoyed reading. As a youth she read and studied the Greek classic plays. Winninag Smith-Mundt Fulbright Scholarship she studied literature at Indiana University earning her master’s degree in creative writing. She moved to Winnipeg Manitoba in 1966 and continued her university studies at the Michigan State University receiving her PhD in 1972. She is married and has one daughter and the family has settled in with Dr. Uma working as a professor at the University of Winnipeg. She began her professional writing career in 1962 producing an historical drama. In 1967 her writings won the Lady Eaton Award. In 1980 her work was awarded the Caribe Playwriting Completion first prize. Her collection of short stories What Was Always Hers won both the New Muse Award and the Jubilee Award. During her work, writing career and family responsibilities she has also found time to return service to the writers world by working with several boards and committees including the Status of Women Writers Committee, the Board of Immigrant Women’s Association of Manitoba and as president of the Manitoba’s Writers Guild. Obviously she enjoys nothing more than being creatively busy. Sources; Uma Parameswaran web site at the University of Winnipeg. (accessed May 2008)

Born December 7, 1927, Irma, Alberta. Died December 24, 2022, Edmonton, Alberta. When she was a child the family relocated to Edmonton, Alberta. In 1946 Jean married for the 1st time to Clarence Lovig. In 1959 they relocated to Vermilion, Alberta where the couple owned and operated an auction house. The couple had two children and became divorced in the mid 1960's. She opened a small cafe in Vermilion to support her family. She married her second husband Larry Paré and became step mother to his three children. She worked as a caterer and people began to request her recipes which led her to publish her 1st cook book in 1981. She co-founded Company's Coming Publishing Ltd. and she has authored more than 200 cookbooks in her own down to earth style. As her brand grew the company test kitchen and office moved to Edmonton in 2005 to be closer to family. Jean was also a principal shareholder of C O M A C Food Group which owned Company's Coming Cafes, Grabbajabba Specialty Coffee, Pastels Cafes, and the Canadian rights to Domino's Pizza franchise.  In 2004 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. In 2002 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal followed in 2012 with the Diamond Jubilee Medal.  In 2009 her personal collection of over 6,000 cook books was donated to the University of Guelph in Ontario. She retired in 2011 with over 200 published cookbooks to her credit. She has been inducted into the Alberta Business Hall of Fame and the Taste Canada Hall of Fame.   Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2025)

Born Toronto Ontario. Ema earned her BA from the University of Toronto in 1960. After graduation she left and traveled to France to continue studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. She began her career as a journalist writing for magazines. She earned a feature writing award from the Media Club of Canada in 1970 and 1974  and  for radio documentary work in 1973 and 1974. In 1981 she was recognized for Best book in 1981 and again twenty years later. April 26, 1981 she married Thomas More Robinson and the couple have two children.  In 1983 she won the Gold Medal from the National Magazine Awards. In 1990 she won Best Canadian Essay from Fifth House Press for her work The Boat People. In 1996 she was recognized three times by the Canadian Jewish Book Awards. In 2000 she earned Best Book acclaim from the Globe and Mail newspaper and in 2001 she earned the Pearson Writer's Trust Non-fiction Prize, the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, the Dorothy Shoichet Prize for History, the Christian Science Monitor Best Books, and the New Statesman Best books. In 2002 she was a Visiting Fellow with the International Affairs Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder Colorado, U.S.A. Her multi prize winning book Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History was listed with the Literary Review of Canada in the 100 Most Important Books Ever Written up to 2004. In 2008 and 2009 she was Vic Chair of tf the Writer's Union of Canada and Chair in 2009 . 2010. In 2009 she was appointed Honorary Council of the Canadian Centre for International Justice, Ottawa. She earned the Canada World Peace Award from the World Federalist Movement-Canada. In 2015 she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada. (2019)

Nanci is a professional genealogist who, while searching her family story found a relative who came to Canada and was involved in a murder trial. This discovery sent her off on a writing spree. Nanci has taken the creative writing program from Calgary University and holds a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogy. She is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada and the Writing Community of York Region. Her books as set in Toronto in the Victoria era of 1874-1899 and are all based on actual events. Her first novel in 2014 was Body in the Harbour and by 20o8 there were six move books such as Corpses for Christmas and Death on Duchess Street. (2019)

Born April 30, 1947, Edmonton, Alberta. Kit family relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia where she grew up. She earned her BA from the University of Alberta, Edmonton and returned to attend the University of British Columbia to earn her post graduate degree in Library Science. She began her library career in Ontario. She went on to earn a second Master's at Simmons College Centre for the Study of Children's Literature, Boston, Massacheutts, U.S.A. Back in Vancouver she published her 1st novel, The Daring Game in 1986. Her book Awake and Dreaming won the Governor General's Award in Literature. Her books have also been recognized with the Vicky Metcalf Award, Mr. Christie's Book Award, The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for two of her books and the Children's Book of the Year Award, which she had earned three times. in 2019 her 15th book was published, Be my love. Kit lives with her life partner in Victoria, British Columbia. (2019)

Born April 14, 1952, Jonquière, Quebec. Died December 1, 2008, Montreal, Quebec. Hélène studied literature at the Cégep de Jonquière. She would go on tot become a well known feminist writer and playwright. In 1988 she published the play La Déposition which had been translated in five languages and been staged in New York, Paris, Amsterdam, London, and Rome. She documented the history of the women's movement in the province of Quebec in a series entitled 'Chronique Délinquante' in the magazine La Vie en Rose. She was also published in Elle (Quebec), Focus, Dérives, Les Cahiers de a femme, Possibles, JEU, Guide ressource, and many other magazines. In 1992 she was awarded the Prix Edgar-L'espérance for her book La Douler de vocan. She would pen the words to the feminist song 'Du pain et des roses/ Bread and roses' for the 1995 world march of women in Quebec. It was in the 1990's that she wrote several plays for television and Radio Canada. In 2000 she earned the Prix littéraires du Salon du livre du Sagueanay-Lac-Saint-Jean. In 2004 she was presented with the Prix Abitibi-Consolidated. She was also a staunch supporter of Quebec separatism. She was a well known lecturer throughout Quebec and New Brunswick. In the spring of 2003 she presented a show celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Council of the Status of Women. In 2009 she was awarded posthumously the Prix Patriote de l'année from the Société-Saint Jean-Babtiste de Montreal. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2022)

Born 1958, Toronto, Ontario. Growing up Louise was an avid reader who was encouraged to read by her mother. Louise grew particularly fond of mysteries both fiction and real. Louise earned he Bachelor of Applied Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in 1979. She began her career as a radio host and journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Traveling for her work she felt alone and isolated and turned to alcohol to cope. At 35 she was able to admit she had a problem and began a life of sobriety. She Married Michael Whitehead on a blind date. In the late 1990's Penny left the CBC and wrote a historical novel. It was not long before she began writing mystery novels. Her 1st novel called Still Live came second in a field of 800 entries in a British writing competition and went on to win the New Blood Dagger un England and the Canadian Arthur Ellis Award for Best 1st Crime Novel, the Dulys Award, the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best 1st Novel in the United States. Her novels with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache are set in Quebec. In 2007, 2008 2010, 2012, and 2013, the Inspector helped her earn an Agatha Award. Her books have also earned Edgar Awards, Macavity Awards, Anthony Awards, and Arthur Ellis Awards. In 2009, Penny helped to launch a new award for aspiring Canadian mystery writers, the Unchanged Arthur for Best Unpublished 1st Novel. In 2013 she was inducted into the order of Canada in part for shining the spotlight on her home area in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Her 1st two novels have become made for TV movies. By 2019 16 novels have featured the Inspector. (2020)

née MacKay. Born 1907, Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Died 1987. While a student at Acadia University in Nova Scotia she wrote for the student magazine the Athenaeum. She graduated in 1929 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She found herself searching for a career and attempted nursing and journalism but neither profession really caught her attention for long. Instead she took to the call for adventure and with a close friend  too off to Northern Quebec. By the end of the 1930’s she married a Danish prospector Reinhold ‘Pete’ Petersen. The couple would have two sons. The travelled and lived, mainly in  the bush in primitive conditions, across Northern Quebec and Northern Ontario from Rouyn Noranda to the spring of 1951 when the family settled Swastika, Ontario.. Once settled, she became active in the local church and helped organize the first Kirkland Lake Museum. She also became the local librarian. Olive began writing sending articles to Canadian, American and British magazines. From 1963 to 1967 she was the editor of The Northland for the Anglican Diocese of Moosonee, Ontario. In 1974 she published The Land of the Moosoneek and followed it in 1981 with The Vanishing Prospector which was an autobiographical record of her live beginning in Rouyn-Noranda in 1938 through the years in Swastika. Source: Voices of our Past, Looking to our Future: The Women of Kirkland Lake, Museum of Northern History, 2012, Online (accessed 2025);Ship Hector passenger descendant of Hugh Weaver Fraser and Sophia McPherson, Passenger Descendants1773-2023, Online (accessed 2025); Not on Find a Grave 2025

Born 1925, Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. Died August 22, 2005, Vancouver, British Columbia. Penny graduated from the North Bay Normal School (teacher’s school) and taught in one-room school in the Port Arthur Area. Penny would continue her education at university and receive her doctorate (PhD) from the University of Alberta. Her doctoral research on Isabella Valancy Crawford (1846-1887) would result in her publishing two books on the poet. She went on published two books on Indigenous literature with her work Native Literature in Canada being the first full length history of the writings of Indigenous peoples in Canada.  These works were recognized when she became a honourary chief of the Gull Bay First Nations. In 1981, 1984 and again in 1989 she received the City of Thunder Bay Citizens of Exceptional Achievement Awards. In 1988 she earned a teaching award from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. In 1889 she received the first Distinguished Teacher Award from Lakehead University.  In 1992 she was presented with the Order of Canada and received the Canada 125th Commemoration of Canadian Confederation Award. In 1994 she received L’Ordine d’onore from the National Congress of Italian Canadians. After her retirement from teaching at Lakehead University she wrote two memoirs, Breaking the Mould in 1995 and Embracing Serefina in 2000. In 2002 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal and the F. G. Bressani Literary Award, which honours Canadian Writers of Italian descent. In 2004 she received the Kouhi Award for her outstanding contribution to writing in Northwestern Ontario. Her last book was called Schoolmarm  was published in 2007 She was a member of various organizations including the Ontario Arts Council, the Canadian Council of the arts and the Canadian Federation of University Women.. After her death Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay assed to its name The Dr. S. Penny Petrone Centre for the Performing arts in honour of her contributions to the arts.  She provided one million dollars in scholarship and bursaries for Lakehead students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine where the Dr. Serafina Penny Petrone Health Information Resource Centre in named in her honour. Her papers are maintained in the Lakehead University Archives. Source: Women's History  Month, City of Thunder Bay, Online (accessed 2024); Obituary, August 2005, online (accessed 2024)

Born February 23,1905, Hamilton, Ontario. Died February 13, 1979, Toronto, Ontario. Josephine graduated from the University of Toronto (U of T) earning a Master of History degree, She then attended the Ontario College of Education and taught high school. Relocating to Montreal she worked in publishing.  By 1931 she was bat at the U of T earning a graduate degree in Library Science. From 1932 through 1965 she worked at the Toronto Public Library. In 1951 her first book The Ardent Exile, a biography of Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1825-1868) earned a Governor General's Award for English language non fiction. She also wrote The Boy Who Ran Away: Great Stories of Canada in 1954  which she followed two years later with The Bold Heart: The Story of Father Lacombe. Her last book, The Ballad of D'Arcy McGee: Rebel in Exile was published in 1967. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2022)

SEE - Poets

SEE - Poets 

Born June 9, 1887, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.  Died September 6, 1967, New York City, New York, U.S.A. In 1909 Kathrene graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and for a time had a career as a social worker. On March 24, 1911 she married a writer , Robert E. Pinkerton and the couple settled in a cabin in the wilderness of Northern Ontario. They learned to live in the wilderness surviving with the closest town eight miles away accessible by canoe in the summer or by dogsled in the winter. They wrote of their lives and sent article to wilderness magazines. It was in northern Ontario that their only child, a daughter, was born. In 1917 the family were in Colorado and then California before settling to life on a houseboat off the shores of British Columbia. In 1922 Katherine had begun to concentrate on writing short stories and novels. In 1939 she published Wilderness Wife based on their lives in Northern Ontario. The next year she published A Crew of Three and for the third year in a row she published another book Two Ends to Our Shoestring. In all she would publish 11 books between 1939 and 1962. (2018)

née Chalmers. Born April 19, 1936, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Died April 22, 2021, Calgary, Alberta. As a child, Sharon loved to read and enjoyed history. After being caught for being truant she was sent to King's Hall (now Bishop's College School), an Anglican private school Here she and a friend created the 'Secret Two Club' and vowed to become writers. She attended the University of New Brunswick and was active in the Drama Society. She eloped with Ross Pollock and by 1956 they had their first child.  The family settled in Toronto. Four more children soon joined the family. In 1962 Sharon joined a Toronto theatre group and directed high school students. By 1964 she had left her abusive husband and she returned with the children back to New Brunswick. She worked with the Playhouse Box Office and along with the University of New Brunswick Dram Society formed The Company of Ten  performing show.  She followed Michael Ball when he accepted a position at the University of Calgary. She began touring with The Prairie Players gong to small towns in Alberta. In 1967 she joined the Mac 14 Theatre Society which was the founding company of Theatre Calgary. In 1967 her sixth child was born to her and Michael. It was at this time she determined to write Canadian Plays. Her first published play, A compulsory Option, won the 1971 Alberta Playwriting Competition. After teaching at several western Canadian institutions she became, in 1984, the first woman artistic director of a major western Canadian theatre.  She has written several plays of children as well as TV and radio scripts. Her play DOC earned her the 1986 Governor General's Award. Multiple awards followed including a Japan Foundation Award in 1995, the Harry and Martha Cohen Award for contributions to Calgary Theatre in 1999 and in 2007 becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She was also inducted into the Order of Canada. Source; Calgary playwright Sharon Pollock remembered for fierce and honest pursuit of excellence by Louis B. Hobson, Calgary Herald May 6, 2021 (accessed 2021)

née Wright. Born May 7, 1930, St. John’s, Newfoundland. Died February 18, 2023, St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador. Helen attended the Prince of Wales, St John's, Newfoundland and worked as a typist with the provincial Department of Justice.  In 1953 she married John Porter and the couple had four children. She began her writing career in 1962 and devoted herself full time to writing in 1973. She began her writing career by publishing short stories, article, reviews and poetry in various magazines such as MacLean's, Chatelaine, the Star Weekly and Saturday Night.  In  1977 she collaborated with Bernice Morgan and Geraldine Rubia on writing From this Place, an anthology from women writers of Newfoundland and Labrador. Between 1975 and 1985 she too an interest in politics and ran for election with the New Democratic Party four times. Her 1st novel, January, February, June of July was published in 1988 and won the Young Adult Book Award from the Canadian Library Association in 1989. She taught at Memorial University in Newfoundland from 1979 through 1991. She worked with the Visiting Arts' Program  where she would visit schools throughout the province to impart a sense of literature to school children. She also worked with projects that put poetry inside public transit busses not only in Newfoundland but also in Alberta. She is a founding member of the Newfoundland Status of Women Council.  She received the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. In 2003 the New Democratic Party of Newfoundland set up the Helen Fogwill Porter Fund to aid women seeking to run as an NDP representative. In 2015 she was inducted in the Order of Canada. Source: St. John's Helen Fogwill Porter remembered as groundbreaking writer and caring friend, C B C news February 20, 2023

née Elliott. Born 1839, England. Died 1928. She emigrated to Canada in 1871. She married William Portlock. It was not until after the death of her husband in 1893 that she began to consider publishing her works which were mainly autobiographical in nature. The Head Keeper (Toronto, 1898) and 25 years of Canadian Life (Toronto, 1901).

Born March 18, 1925, Toronto, Ontario. Died April 5, 1995, Toronto, Ontario. Claire was the only child of the acclaimed poet E. J. Pratt. She contracted polio as a child and between 1925 to 1936 she suffered numerous operations on her right leg. She graduated from Victoria College, University of Toronto despite health problems and continued her education at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. In 1944 she and a friend started the Book Truck which wnet on to become the Claire Pratt Book Service from 1947 through 1950. She worked as an editor for Harvard University Press 1951-1954. In 1954 she spine was fused and she spent 20 months in a body cast! She worked with McClelland & Stewart publishers from 1955 for the next decade working with some of the best known authors of the time. Her own published books including Haiku in 1965, a history of the Pratt Family, The Silent Ancestors, in 1971 and in 1975 more poems titled, The Music of Oberon.  She was also and artist of woodcuts and wood carvings with her works being exhibited throughout North America in the 1960's and 1970's. She was active with Amnesty International and the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund. Source, Karwartha Lakes Writers, Online  (accessed 2024)

née Whitney. Born February 23, 1893, Atherley, Ontario. Died September 6, 1984, Toronto, Ontario. Viola graduated from Victoria College, University of Toronto and went on to attend the Ontario College of Education. She married poet Edwin John Dove Pratt (1883-1964) on August 20, 1918 and the couple had one daughter. Viola managed the house and home and also assisted her husband with the production of the Canadian Poetry Magazine. She also aided in his research. For many years she was an editor at the United Church Publishing House in Toronto and was the founding editor of the United Church children's Magazine World Friends wich ran from 1929 to 1955. She also published her own books including Famous Doctors: Osler, Banting, Penfield published in 1956 and Journeying with the Year for the Women's Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada in 1957. She also wrote and had published short stories for young readers. She was interested in the study of comparative religious, a social activist, and a popular public speaker. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2025)

née Weston. Born January 6, 1872, Island Brook, Quebec. Died September 3, 1955, Sherbrooke, Quebec. Although Bertha's family was English speaking, the children were also fluent in French. In 1892 Bertha married George Price (1868-1962) and the couple settled in Sherbrooke. The couple raised five children. Bertha taught music and lead a youth orchestra as well as performing with two of her children. She was also known for writing articles and children's stories, and was particularly interested in local legends. In 1923 she published Legends of Our Lakes and expanded this in 1927 with Legends of Our Lakes and Rivers.  With a friend, Maude Pellerin, she  produced a book of poetry. She wrote for the Sherbrooke Daily Record and collected an published a series of articles on local history which had appeared in the newspaper. She was a member of the Canadian Authors Association and the Canadian Women's Press Club. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers online (accessed 2022)

SEE - Jessie Louise Beattie  

Born 1946, Toronto, Ontario. In 1966 she married Dr. David Seager in 1966. The couple had three children. In 1967 she earned  a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto.. She married Douglas Donegani in 1980, they had a daughter and became  divorced in 2003. In 2003 she married Fernando Miranda Arregui. She has been Associate Editor of Tamarack Review (1970- 82), Editor of Ethos (1983-86), Playwright-in-Residence (1974-75), and Writer-in-Residence at several Ontario libraries (1987 -1991). She also worked as a literary and television editor, and as an instructor at the University of Toronto. Her writings have garnered several awards including:  the New York Art Directors Club Award of Merit in 1983, the American Institute of Graphic Arts Certificate of Excellence in 1983, the American Poetry Association Award in 1986, a Canada Council Arts Award in 1991, a Toronto Arts Council Award in 1990 and 1992, and an Ontario Arts Council Work-in-Progress Grant in 1995. Her articles have been published in Canadian magazines and newspapers, and her writing has been anthologized in four languages. Source: Janice Rapport Collection, E.J. Pratt Library, University of Victoria Campus, University of Toronto. Online (accessed July 2013).Submitted by Jeanne Ouellette, Ottawa, Ontario.

Born July 7, 1948, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. In 1968 she married Paul Reichs and the couple have two daughters. Kathy earned her Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from American University, Washington D. C., U.S.A. in 1971 and by 1972 she had completed her Master's degree at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A. followed by achieving a PhD from Northwestern in 1975. An adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte she is on indefinite leave since 2016. She has also taught at Northwestern, Northern Illinois University, University of Pittsburgh in the U.S. and in Canada at Concordia and McGill University. She is certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She is affiliated with the Laboratoire des sciences judiciaires et de Médecine Légale  in the province of Quebec. She was a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team which assisted at the World Trade Centre disaster 9/11/2001. She is well known as an author not only of scientific papers and books but of of forensic novels and was a producer for the TV series Bones which featured the character Temperance Brennan who was loosely based on her popular novels. Her 1st novel Déjà Dead won the Author Ellis Award for Best First Novel in 1997. Her books are set in the background of the province of Quebec. By 2019 she had published 21 novels often based on her own experiences which have been translated into 30 languages. She has also written young adult novels in a series called Virals.  Kathy Reichs is a Member of the Order of Canada.(2020)

Born October 20, 1921, Budapest, Hungary. Died February 1, 2010, Toronto, Ontario. Kati was the part of the weekly CIAO Radio show  The Hungarian Show and was the arts commentator for Chin Radio. As a print journalist she was  a columnist for Kaleidoscope Magazine and a contributor for the Performing Arts and Entertainment Magazine. She served as the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Writers Union of Canada and Vice President of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association.  She served on numerous board including the Toronto International Exchange, the Canadian Scene Multi-language News Service and the Hungarian Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She was the author of travel books for children that introduced young readers not only about Canadian cities but also to European countries through the  of for animals. Her works garnered her numerous awards including being a Knight in the Order of St. Ladislaus, the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary for her contribution to the development of Canadian-Hungarian Cultural Relations. In 1993 she was appointed to the Order of Canada. Source: Kati Rekai was Toronto's first lady of multiculturalism, by Susan Smith, Globe and Mail, March 1, 2010, Online (accessed 2011)

née Phares. Born August 13, 1910, Anatone, Washington U.S.A. Died May 24, 1984, Williams Lake, British Columbia. She began her working career as secretary to the University of Alberta extension director of drama. She wrote and produced her first play in 1935 when she was registrar of the Banff School of Fine arts (now Banff Centre). She moved on to the university of North Carolina dram department in the U. S. A. where she penned numerous folk plays. In june 1938 her play Still Stands the House  was performed and in 1939 it was published. It is one of the most frequently anthologized and performed Canadian plays. In 1941 she received the Governor General's Award for outstanding service to Canadian drama. She was the first Canadian playwright to publish a volume of collected plays in 1982.The Gwen Pharis Ringwood Civic Theatre is located in Williams Lake, British Columbia. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2014)

Born 1943? New York City, New York, U.S.A. Died October 2008, Toronto, Ontario. Constance attended Smith College, Tulane University, and the University of North Carolina where she earned a Doctorate (PhD). While at university she met her husband Leon Rook. They married in 1969 and the couple had one son. Relocating to British Columbia she taught English and edited the Malahat Review at the University of Victoria. In 1979 she initiated the women’s study program at the university and went on to become academic Vice-president. In 1988 she joined the staff of the English Department at the University of Guelph in Ontario. She was the founding director of the Master of fine arts program in creative writing at the university and went on to become associate vice-president in 1994. In 1989 the couple founded the Eden Mills Writer’s Festival. The Festival is held the first weekend after Labour Day each year. That year she published Fear of the Open Heart: Essays on Contemporary Canadian Writing.  In 1999 she became president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba. In 2002 the family moved to Toronto. From 2005 through 2007 she served as president of PEN Canada where she created fundraisers for the writer’s organization dedicated to freedom of expression. In 2005 she earned the Gemini Prize for her short stories.

née McGregor. Born Banff, Scotland. Died 1892. She emigrated to Canada with her second husband. When let a widow by the death of her husband she turned to writing to support herself. She had numerous articles and stories published in various Canadian and American magazines. She als published some 4 books between 1868 and 1878. . These included: Violet Keith (Toronto, 1868) ; Wreck of the White Bear (Montreal, 1871) ; A Legend of the Grand Gordons ( Montreal, 1873) and Legend of the Holy Stones ( Montreal, 1878)

Born March 22, 1909, Saint Boniface, Manitoba. Died July 13, 1983, Quebec City, Quebec. After high school Gabrielle attended Winnipeg Norma School (teacher's college) and taught in rural schools before she was appointed to Provencher School in Saint Boniface. Just prior to World War ll (1939-1945) she traveled in Europe before the war forced her to return home. Settling in Quebec she earned her living as a sketch artist finding time to write while working. Her first novel Bonheur d'occasion appeared in 1945 and won for her the Prix Femina in 1947. The book was translated and published in English as the Tin Flute winning the 1st of three Governor General's Award in Literature. The book also won the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. Wishing to avoid the publicity of her successful book Gabrielle returned to Manitoba. In August 1947 she married a Saint Boniface doctor, Marcel Carbotte.  A three time winner of the Governor General’s Award in Literature as well as international award holder, she is one of the most important Canadian writers of the post World War II Era in Canada. Some of her works have been translated into 15 different languages. In 1967 she became a Companion of the Order of Canada. Her autobiography, La Détresse et l'enchantement was published posthumously and translated in 1984. The movie Tramp at the Door is dedicated to her and supposedly depicts her childhood. On September 29, 2004, the Bank of Canada issued a $20 bank note in the Canadian Journey Series which included a quotation from her 1961 book The Hidden Mountain (La Montagne secrète), and its English translation by Harry Binsse: 'Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?"   Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2006)

Born January 9, 1916, Uxbridge, England. At 16 Thelma worked in the foreign office at various secretarial positions which took her to postings in Budapest, Athens, Cairo and Beirut before she ended back in London in 1944. She married in 1947 . By 1966 she was divorced and came to Canada where she found work in the Library at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. Leaving her job she opened a unique craft and book shop, the Canadian Craft Store. Wishing to be closer to her son she moved to the West coast of Canada where she became involved with a peace movement wanting to ban nuclear bombs. She also began a close relationship with the Circle Craft Co-operative and Gallery. She produced the  Craft Circle newsletter as the organization grew to cover the province of British Columbia. In 2006 she published an autobiographical book that included her post WW ll exploits, called The Handkerchief Drawer. (Trafford Publishing, 2006) . Sources: First Generation by Nancy Knickerbooker, Vancouver Asia Pacific Imitative, 1990 

née Vance. Born March 28, 1931, Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.A. Died November 27, 2007, Galiano Island, British Columbia. During the Second World War (1939-1945) her family moved around various army basis before finally settling in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. Jane attended Mills College, Oakland, California and earned her Bachelor of Arts. While teaching at Concord Academy in Massachusetts in 1954 she met her lifelong partner, author, and educator Helen Sonthoff. The couple moved to Vancouver in 1956 and soon received their Canadian citizenship. She taught periodically at the University of British Columbia while writing. Her first novel, Desert of the Heart was published in 1964. In 1976 the couple settled on Galiano Island off the west coast of British Columbia. Desert Hearts became a movie in 1985 and was a ground breaking topic. In all she wrote a dozen book including three short story collections as well as writing for various high profile publications. For the gay liberationist newspaper The Body Politic she wrotea regular column from 1979-1985. In 1998 she received the Order of British Columbia and was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2007. Source; Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2020)

Born February. 23, 1887, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died October 12, 1953, Vancouver, British Columbia. Tilly  attended the University of British Columbia when it was connected to McGill University, Montreal. She left teaching to marry Frederick James Rolston in 1909 and raised a family of three children. Tilly worked closely with many associations and clubs including being  a director of the Vancouver-based Pacific National Exhibition, an Honorary President of the Women's Canadian Club, president of the Oratorio Society, Quota Club, and the Travel Women's Club. She was also the founding chairman of the Theatre Under the Stars, board member of the Y W C A auxiliary and of the Vancouver Symphony Society. While a homemaker she continued her interest in politics and actually entered politics as an elected Progressive Conservative Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in1941. In 1951 she sat as an Independent for the remainder of the session. She became a supporter of W.A.C. Bennett and in the 1952 B.C. election in Vancouver-Port Grey, she was elected as a Social Credit candidate and named education minister. She was the second woman in British Columbia to be appointed to the cabinet and the first woman in all of Canada to hold a specific portfolio. She was a staunch advocate education for every child. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online

Born November 28, 1932, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Ann earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, her Master's from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and her Doctorate (PhD) from the University of London, United Kingdom. This educator and author is a professor at Massey College and the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama and Victoria College at the University of Toronto. In 1976 she was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 1986 she earned the Rose Mary Crawshay Award from the British Academy and the following year she became a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 1989 the Association for Canadian Theatre Research created the Ann Saddlemyer Award. Among the many distinguished recognitions she was presented with were the 1994 YWCA Toronto Woman of the Year Award and the Order of Canada. Her more than one dozen published books have been related to drama and English literature. She is considered a pioneer in the field of Irish studies having published scholarly research in numerous publications. She has been a welcome lecturer not only in North America but also in Japan, China, Ireland, and Australia. She is also an accomplished editor and member of several editorial boards such as Theatre History in Canada/ Histoire du Théâtre au Canada of which she is a founding president. Source:: Women's Movement, University of Ottawa, online (accessed 2019)

née Madden  Born December 31, 1820, Cootehill, Cavan County, Ireland. Died April 5, 1903, Montreal, Quebec. Mary Anne emigrated to Canada in 1844 and published her first works by subscription (where people sign up to purchase a book before it is published.) on November 24, 1846 she married publisher James Sadlier. They remained in Montreal where she continued to write and establish her name as an author. While in Canada she wrote 18 books, five novels, one collection of short stories, a religious catechism, and translated nine books from the French language to English. She also contributed to Pilot magazine and the American Celt Magazine. The family moved to New York, U.S.A. but after her husband's death she returned to Montreal. During her career she would publish some 60 volumes of work from domestic novels to historical romances to children's catechisms. A friend of the assassinated author, poet, and Canadian politician, Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1825-1868), she edited a  book of his poems and had it published posthumously in 1869, as a tribute to her friend. In 2008 she was declared a National Historic Person of Canada. Source: National Historic Person, Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage, online (accessed 2021)

Born December 31, 1946, Toronto, Ontario. Rosemary attended York University, Toronto for her undergraduate studies and continued at the University of Toronto for post graduate studies in Social work. She was dominant person in the 1995 push to have the provincial and federal governments to declare February as Black History month. She has also had an active career outside of her history crusade, particularly in the fields of education and social work. She has worked as a school teacher and a hospital social worker and done volunteer work with developmentally delayed adults, emotionally disturbed children, and recent immigrants. She sat on Toronto's Ministry of Education Advisory Panel and vetted the black history curriculum produced by Toronto's District School Board. She was employed in the Women's Bureau of the Office of the Deputy Premier, where she developed a series of programs to encourage women to pursue training and employment in science fields. In 1993 she became president of the Ontario Black History Society a position she held until 2015.She has received numerous awards for her efforts including in 1999 the William Peyton Hubbard Relations Award, the Women of Pace Award, and the Black Links Award. In the mid-2000s she completed her doctoral coursework at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. In 2005 she earned the Planet Africa Marcus Garvey Award. She also holds a lifetime achievers Award from Women Achievers’ Awards and is a member of the Order of Ontario. Rosemary married Jay Sadlier and the couple have three children.

Born 1925, Saint-Germaine-de-Grantham, Quebec. She earned her BA from the University of Ottawa. She taught elementary school and high school in Manitoba for 20 years. In 1970 she became a professor of Canadian literature at College universitaire de Saint-Boniface, Manitoba. She was the person who initiated the 1st university level Canadian literature course in western Canada. In 1978 she was a founding member of the Centre d'études Franco-Canadiennes de l'Ouest. In 1980 she published her 1st book, Le Rideau se lève au Manitoba  In 1984, she was a director for the Regroupement des centres d'études au Canada. She was also a founding member of the 1st two Franco-Manitoba publishing houses, Éditions du Blé and Éditions des Plaines. These publishing houses had the specific mission to promote French language writing in Western Canada. Annette also played a major role in the preservation of the Saint Boniface birthplace of  the Canadian literary giant Gabrielle Roy (1909-1983).  In 2004 Annette was inducted into the order of Canada. In 2005 she published the book Au Pays de Gabrielle Roy.

née Goodman. Born December 9, 1890, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died July 13, 1970, Toronto, Ontario. In 1913 Laura married George Salverson and the couple lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and then Toronto, Ontario. In 1923 Laura presented the first of her seven published works, The Viking Heart. Most of her works would reflect her Icelandic background. In 1937 Laura published the Dark Weaver for which she received a Governor General’s Award in literature. In 1939 she produced an autobiography, Confessions of an Immigrant’s Daughter which also won a Governor General’s Award. In 1954 her Immortal Rock: the Saga of the Kennington Stone won the Ryerson Fiction Award. Laura was a member of the Paris Institute of Arts and Sciences which awarded her a gold medal for literary merit. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, online (accessed 2009)

Born February 28, 1912, Joliette, Quebec. Died August 28, 2003, Montreal, Quebec. Berthe entered the Congregation de Notre Dame and pronounced her vows in 1934. In 1940 she earned a degree in Pedagogy from the Université de Montréal and began a career teaching domestic science including culinary arts. She went on to study at the great culinary schools such as the Académie de cuisine, Paris, France. In 1853 she took on the responsibility of the Culinary Arts Department at Ecole Supérieure des arts et Métiers de Montréal. From 1973 to 1993 she administered the Ecole d'art culinaire de Montréal. During the 1970's she hosted a weekly cooking show on the Télé-Métropole television network and published a dozen recipe books.  Source: Hommage à 56 femmes d'exception qui ont changé le Québec. Suggested by Larry McNally, Gatineau, Quebec. Source: Biography, St. Boniface, University, Online

National Historic Person

Born April 13, 1861, Milton, Nova Scotia. Died February 15, 1947, Toronto, Ontario. Margaret studied in Edinburgh, Scotland and in Orleans, France and at 15 retuned home to take courses as Dalhousie University. She originally wrote under the name Marshall Saunders to hide her female identity. While it was just becoming somewhat respectable for women to be writers when Margaret was publishing her works, writings by women were not best sellers. In 1894 she wrote Beautiful Joe, a story of an abused dog, for a competition sponsored by the American Humane Society. It won first prize! Beautiful Joe would became the first Canadian book to sell more than 1,000,000 copies. It was translated into more than 14 different languages. Margaret would become a prolific writer of children's stories and romance novels. She also wrote on social issues for the Halifax Morning Chronicle and the Toronto Globe. She was a lecturer and an animal rights advocate. She was also an active member of the Local Council of Women in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Along with fellow maritime writer Lucy Maude Montgomery (1872-1942) she founded the the Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club (C W P C). Margaret would serve as Vice president at the national level of the C W P C. In 1914 she moved to Toronto where, living with her younger sister, the home was always filled with pets. In 1934 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C. B. E). She was also the recipient of a medal from the Societé protectrice des animaux in Paris, France. in 1947 the National Historic Sites and Monument Board of Canada declared Margaret Marshall as a Person of National Historic Significance. In Milton, the Nova Scotia government erected a plaque on her birth site. The plaque was later moved to Tupper Park. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online (accessed 2006)

Born 1838, England. Died July 10, 1901, Toronto, Ontario. Annie became and established author with such titles as A romance of Toronto (Toronto 1888); Lion, the mastiff (Toronto 1895) and Three wedding rings (Toronto n.d.) She could perhaps be considered a pioneer of early multi media writing as she apparently worked or at least published for the Canadian Department of Agriculture in 1898 when she prepared under her own name a lantern slide lecture on teaching kindness to animals called : Dick Niven and his Nobby. The work consisted of some 24 slides but only the descriptive text has survived.

SEE - Dayal Kaur Khalsa

Judy attended the University of Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan. For 25 years she wrote for the food section of the Edmonton Journal newspaper. After retirement she opened a blog judylink,  sharing stories and of course recipes from both Canada and New Zealand where she spends half her time. She has written 11 books by 2019 with her 1st novel, Freddy's War,  being published in 2011. She has published  biographies such as Mamie's Children; Generations of Prairie Women in 1998 and Jean Pare: an Appetite for Life, the inspiring story of Canada's most popular cookbook author.

Born December 14, 1950, Stoney Creek, Ontario. Virginia trained as a teacher and went on to become a staff developer in a School of Writing and Publishing after being sent to Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. to be trained as a teacher of the writing process.  She has taught creative writing at the University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A. Her book I Just Had Two Wings won the Geoffrey Bilson, Silver Birch, Red Cedar and Myrca Awards. Send One Angel Down won the recipient of a Parents Choice Gold Award. Messenger took the Best Book of the Year for Youth Award from New York City Public Library. (2018)

née Lyon. September 14, 1872, Hangchow, China. Died July 21, 1957, Duarte, California, U.S.A. Abbie's were missionaries in China when she was born. In the early 1880's the family returned to North America and settled in Ohio. Abbie attended the University of Wooster, Ohio, U.S.A. and obtained her Bachelor degree. The school awarded her an honourary Masters in 1897. At first she intended to join her father in mission work and in 1894 she attended Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. In 1896 she married the Canadian Bible scholar Henry Burton Sharman (1865-1953) and the couple settled in Canada. During the time she was studying for her Doctoral degree (which she earned from the University of Chicago in 1906) Abbie wrote book reviews for the Chicago Evening Post newspaper. While living in Toronto and Winnipeg she wrote fiction, poetry, biography and drama using the pen name of Mrs. Lyon Sharman. She even illustrated one of her own books. A member of the Canadian Womens Press Club in Toronto and Winnipeg, she would serve as president of the Winnipeg chapter of the organization. She also edited the Cape Cod Journal. The couple were in China for three years while Henry was at the University of Peking. They retired to California, U.S.A. but returned often to Canada to vacation in Algonquin Park in Ontario. Her writings also included a book for children: The Horse that Educated the Children: A Christmas Story of the Canadian Prairie published in Winnipeg in 1912. Her writings appeared in various Publications including the Canadian Forum, Canadian Student, and Poetry. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers (accessed (2020)

née Ryan. Born December 16, 1838, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. Died July 10, 1901, Toronto, Ontario. Annie and her family immigrated and were settled in Toronto, Canada West by 1844 where her father was a hardware merchant. In 1878 she married Hugh Paine Savigny (1821-1881). In 1886 she published her first novel A Heart-Song of Today which was followed two years later A Romance of Toronto. In 1992 she published Three Wedding Rings and in 1895 Lion, the Mastiff: from Life. She also produced sever juvenile books about cruelty to animals. Later in life she wrote for scientific periodicals on astronomy, including the Transactions of the Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto. During her career she used many variations of her name on her publications including A.G. Savigny, Annie Maria Gregg Ryan and Mrs. Hugh Savigny. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, online (accessed 2022)

Born March 20, 1965, Oshawa, Ontario. Mary’s family moved a lot when she was young, moving with their father’s job. They finally settled in Waterloo, Ontario. She watched her brothers play hockey while she played ringette since at that time there were no girls hockey teams. She began University at the University of Guelph but after two years switched to Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo because of her job. She met and began dating a hockey player, Brad Shaw. The couple married in June 1988 and they have three children. After their marriage Brad and Mary traveled to Europe where Brad was to play hockey before being picked up by the National Hockey League playing for the Hartford Whalers in the U.S.A. While living in the U.S. Mary had no green card so she could not work. She took correspondence courses at the Institute of Children’s Literature. After some time with the Ottawa Senators Brad was playing with the Detroit Vipers and Mary decided she had time for writing. Back in Canada she teamed up with artist Chuck Temple and Brad Brady the kid who loved to play hockey was born while the family lived for Brad to play hockey in Tampa Bay, Florida with the Lightening. . Back home in Ottawa the Brady Brady character who loves hockey has become a popular series of hockey stories for young people. Brad retired as a player in 2004 and took up coaching.

Born June 2, 1935, Oak Park Illinois, U.S.A.  Died July 16, 2003, Victoria, British Columbia. Carol studied at Hanover College, Indiana, U.S.A. spending her junior year abroad at the University of Exeter in England on a United Nations scholarship. In 1957 she married engineer Donald Hugh Shields and the couple immigrated to Canada. Living in Ottawa she worked as an editorial assistant from 1968-1978. In 1975 she earned a Master's Degree from the University of Ottawa. A writer and professor she was also Chancellor at the University of Winnipeg, where the family had settled in 1980 and where she had been a professor. The busy mother of five children, this writer won the National Book Critics Circle Award, Governor General’s Award for Literature, The Booker Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She was elected a member of the Royal Society of Canada, was induced into the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba. Along with writing novels and biographies, she has also written five plays and written poetry. When her husband retired in 2000 the couple moved to Victoria, British Columbia. In 2001 she was inducted into the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame. Films based on her novels include the 1996 Swann and in 2003 The Republic of Love. In 2020 the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction was established to honour writing by Canadian, American, and non-binary writers in English. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2009); Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, online (accessed 2021)

née Summerville. Born November 6, 1902, Glasgow, Scotland. Died January 23, 1990, St. Boniface, Manitoba. Coming to Canada as a youngster Nan grew and married and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She acquired a keen interest in Canadian and Manitoba history. Her first book was published in 1957 and followed it with ten more works for young readers. Some were historical studies and some were biographies. Many of the stories featured native and Métis women. In 1959 she organized Manitoba's first Indian handcrafts sales centre and she was elected Woman of the Year in Manitoba by the Women's Sales and Advertising Council in 1965. She earned the Manitoba Golden Boy Award in recognition of her service to her community. She also received the Manitoba Centennial Medal from the Manitoba Historical Society in 1970. From 1969 through 1971 she was a member of the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba. Her papers are part of the collections of the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, the Archives of Manitoba and the Archives at the University of Southern Mississippi, U.S.A. Source; Memorable Manitobans, Online revised 2024.

née Stanton  Born April 24, 1862, Cobourg, Canada West (now Ontario). Died February 22, 1943, Toronto, Ontario. In 1898 she began publishing short stories and poems in various magazines and journals. On July 10, 1884 she married Dr. Charles Sheard (1887-1929) and they raised a family of four sons. Between 1898 and 1938 she would publish some 12 books including; Trevelyan's Little Daughter (Toronto, 1898) and A Maid of Many Moods ( Toronto, 1902). Sadly her papers were destroyed by her family after her death. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

née Mein. Born November 29, 1783, Cornwall, England. Died July 9, 1866, Toronto, Ontario. Susan Married William Sibbald in 1807. The couple would have 11 children. In 1835 the family immigrated to Upper Canada (Now Ontario). Within the year of landing in Canada Susan became a widow. The family must have had some fortune for they were able to live in the colonial wilderness in comfort. She wrote, much like the better known sister authors, Susannah Moodie, and Catharine Parr Trail, notes for those who might wish to immigrate. Her work was entitled : A few days in the United States and Canada, hints for settlers published in 1846. She also penned an autobiography of the 1st 29 years of her life which was published in 1926 by her great-grandson. A facsimile reprint of the Memoirs of Susan Sibbald 1783-1812 was published in 2010. Source: Marian E. Fowler, “MEIN, SUSAN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 9, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–,( accessed January 30, 2015)

Born January 4, 1902, Carcross, Yukon. Died July 17, 1991, Carcross, Yukon. Angela was given the Tagish name Ch'óonehte' Ma and the Tlingit name Stóow  as well as Angela by her Godfather. The names showed respect for both the peoples of her parents. Her mother Maria was ill and could not participate in regular activities of her daughter so times shared usually meant the telling of stories of the Tagish peoples. Angela married when she was just 14 to George Sidney (1888-1971) a future chief at Carcross. The couple would have seven children, three of who survived to be adults. Angela felt strongly about preserving the traditions and stories of her people and she was soon sharing her knowledge with her own family members but also with other school children. Angela also assisted linguists and anthropologists with research on the Tagish language and traditions. In 1980 she published Place-names of the Tagish Region, Southern Yukon and followed with Tagish Stories in 1982 and Our Family History in 1983. In 1984 Angela travelled to Toronto to be part of the storytelling festival. In 1985 she became a member of the Order of Canada, a national recognition of her efforts to preserve her people's language, stories and traditions. In 1988 she was the inspiration for the establishment of the Yukon International Storytelling Festival. She said "Well, I have no money for my Grandchildren. My stories are my wealth." (Julie Cruickshank, The Social Life of Stories Narrative and Knowledge in the Yukon,  UBC Press, 2000) Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2022)

Born February 12, 1868, Scotland. Died September 13,1958, Wootton Wawen, England. After the death of her parents she emigrated to Montréal in 1907. Here, she used her powers of observation of the middle class life of single women immigrants in the pre World War l (1914-1918) urban Canada. Her father had been an author and in Scotland she had written book reviews and articles for newspapers and magazines. In 1919 she published a book of short stories called Sister Women that told of her observations. She was a respected lecturer on women writers and women characters in works by male writers. She was a member of PEN and represented Canada at the PEN world conference in Vienna. While she published at least 12 additional works, all written while in Canada, but it is Sister Women that illustrates the disproportional suffering  women in an era of social change. The work was republished in 1992 as a part of a series on works of Canadian women authors. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online (accessed 2024)

née Rosen. Born March 31, 1938, Flin Flon, Manitoba. As a young woman she was torn to follow a career in piano or in creative writing. She attended the Banff School of Fine Arts on scholarship and by 1955 she was at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, studying English Literature. While at McGill she helped found the McGill University Players. She transferred to the University of British Columbia and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre in 1959. Her first full-length play, The Elephant and the Jewish Question was part of the Dominion Arts Festival at Vancouver Little Theatre in 1968. A playwright of dramatic works she drew from her own background for some of her play settings. She also wrote of women elders, studies of life in retirement homes, and of the contemporary human condition. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online

Born May 1980, Meadowville, Nova Scotia. In 2008 and 2010 she published works of poetry. In 2005 she earned her Master's Degree from Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec. In 2010 she won the Giller Prize for her novel Sentimentalists which has been translated into multiple languages. Her second novel debuted in 2014. She married John Melillo, a professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. By 2012 she held a doctorate (PhD) from Université de Montréal. (2019)

Born December 7, 1877, Stanley, British Columbia. Died March 27, 1939, New York City, New York, U.S.A. At ten years of age her family left the Caribou region relocation first to Victoria and then to Vancouver, British Columbia. Even as a teen in school she wrote plays, poetry and newspaper article under the names of C. Lindsay Skinner and Constance Lindsay. By 1895 her work had been published in the Canadian Magazine out of Toronto. By 1913 she used her full name when publishing her poetry. By 1920 she used full name exclusively for all her writings. In 1900 she moved to Los Angeles and worked for the LA Times and the following year her works appeared across the country. In 1903 she was working for William Randolph Hearst at the LA Examiner By 1908 she was in Chicago and in 1912 she had arrived in New York City. As well as writing “Sob Sister” stories of human interest she successfully continued her poetic endeavors and wrote plays which she published in her own collected works, In the 1920’s and 1930’s she was known for her histories of pioneers as well as a 3 volume history of the fur trade: Beavers, Kings, and Cabins (NY; Macmillan, 1933). She also wrote successful novels with Canadian settings from 1917 through 1929. She published 19 books, 30 short stories and some 75 poems. Most of her female characters were brave resourceful and refused to defer to men. Source: D C B Online

Born December 12, 1954, Brantford, Ontario. In school, she had trouble learning to read until she introduced herself to the works of Charles Dickens.  In High School she wrote satire for the school newspaper. She studied English at the University of Western Ontario and credits her degree with giving her the true talent to read and learn enough to become a successful sales person  for cutting tools. After university in 1978 she worked as a salesperson in Industrial tools where she found that other women working in the industry as secretaries and receptionists were “most hostile’ to her as a woman salesperson. She went on to become a top sales representative for Canada. She read up on everything before going for sales! Leaving her job she returned to school to earn her Maters in Library Science. It was here that she was introduced to Children's literature. She married Orest Skrypunch in 1981 and became a stay at home for her son.Not liking commercial breat pad sold on the market she developed her own and soon had her own successful business selling her hand-stitched, washable breast pads. In 1992 she began to write her own books. A proud Canadian of Ukrainian descent she began to write stories about Ukrainian Canadians who were interned during World War l, and the Armenian genocide of 1915. In addition she wrote stories about orphans of the Vietnam War. Disregarding constant refusals from publishers her 1st book Silver Threads was published in 1996 winning the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award and was listed by the Ontario Library Association as a ‘Best Bet’. Since then she has published over 20 book for young readers and has been nominated or won some 45 awards for her stories.   She started the Brantford Book Camp for children and a Summer Writing Workshop for adults. In 2008 she was named to the Order of Princess Olha, one of the Highest Awards from the Ukraine.

Born December 27, 1913, Ottawa, Ontario. Died March 4, 1986, London, England.  Elizabeth studied piano at school and at 19 she went to London, England, for music studies. She gave up piano, returned to Canada and began her career as a journalist working for the Ottawa Journal newspaper. During World War ll (1939-1945) she worked briefly in the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., U.S.A, before returning to England. To support her family she worked writing advertising copy for magazines. In 1945 she published her first book, which was considered a masterpiece and was reprinted several times. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept was published in England and was based on her love affair with the poet George Baker, a married man, with whom she had four children. Her mother prevented the book from selling many copies in Canada. Republished in 1966 the first Canadian hardcover edition was published in 1982. The novel was considered a masterpiece. It was 32 years before she produced her next two books in 1977, A Bonus, a short collection of poems, and The Assumption of the Rogues and Rascals, which was a prose poem that offers a continuation and comment on her earlier work. In 1982 she was writer-in residence at the University of Alberta.   She published again in 1984. An edited edition of her early journals was published posthumously. Her biography By Heart: Elizabeth Smart a Life was written in 1991 by Rosemary Sullivan. That same year the film Elizabeth Smart: On the Side of Angels was produced. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, online (accessed 2019)

née Classen  Born September 1, 1915, Newton, Kansas, U.S.A. Died July 31, 2003, Bluffton, Ohio, U.S.A. Barbara studied at Bethel College and then went on to Kansas Stat University earning a Bachelor's Degree in journalism.  She taugt school for a year and then went to work for the Evening Kansan-Republican. In 1939 she married Donovan Smucker, a Mennonite pastor. The couple came to Canada in 1969 where Barbara worked as the first children's librarian at Kitchener Public Library in Ontario. From 1977 to 1982 she was head librarian at Renison College, University of Waterloo. . This author, teacher, and children's librarian has won several awards for her works including the Canada Council Children’s Literature Prize in 1977. Look for her Underground to Canada, Days of Terror, White Mist, and other books. This author wove her stories for young people around little known historical events and inserted a youthful fictional character with whom her young readers could relate. Her 13 books have been translated into several foreign languages as well a Braille and talking books for the sight impaired. In 1993 the couple returned to live in Bluffton, Ohio, U.S.A. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia online (accessed 2024)

SEE - Frances Brooke

née Cress. Born January 15, 1906, Berlin (now Kitchener) Ontario. Died September 12, 2006, Waterloo, Ontario. Edna was raised in Mennonite country which would have great influence on her career. In 1929 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto (U of T) and she followed up with a teacher’s certificate from the Ontario College of Education. At 16 she had experienced the joy of writing and she would have her works published in numerous magazines and journals including; Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Saturday Night, Reader’s Digest, the Star Weekly as well as numerous newspapers. She wrote non–fiction, historical research, and creative non–fiction literary criticism but perhaps is best known for her cook books. While she had published earlier, her best loved cook book was Food That Really Schmecks from McClelland and Stewart in 1968. It would see numerous editions and a series develop from the original publishing. The books contained not only recipes of the Mennonite community but there were anecdotes and stories of daily life interspersed between the culinary delights. In all she would publish 21 books including the ‘Schmecks’ series. In 1991 she established an award for creative non-fiction to be presented annually at Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1996 she became a member of the Order of Canada. Just prior to her death Must write: Edna Staebler Diaries edited by Christi Verduyn was published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2005. Sources: Edna Staebler, B.A. L .L .D ,Who’s Who in the Media Club of Canada 1991 : ‘Remembering Edna Staebler’, Globe and Mail, Toronto, September 17, 2006.

née Wawryniuk. Born August 19, 1903, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. Died April 22, 2002, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Savella and her family immigrated to Canada in 1913 settling in Krydor, Saskatchewan. While still a teen she married Julian Stechishin and the couple had three children. After earning her teachers diploma she studied for her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan in 1930. While she was a student she was also Dean of Women at the Petro Mohyla Institute As Dean she organized classes in cooking, homemaking and Ukrainian culture. She also introduced young women to the art of public speaking. Working in the Department of Women's Service at the University of Saskatchewan she ran outreach programs for Ukrainian immigrants. She would also lecture throughout North America and the Ukraine. In 1926 she helped establish the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada and ten years later was a strong force behind the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. She would editor the women's page of the Ukrainian Voice weekly for 25 years. During World War ll she wrote for the Canadian Consumer Information Service. In 1957 she published her own cook book, Ukrainian Cookery. She had already published books in Ukrainian language covering Ukrainian Embroidery. In 1975 she published the 50th Anniversary of the Saskatoon Branch of the Ukrainian Women's Association. With her help her husband Julian published  books including Ukrainian Grammar and History of the Ukrainian Settlement in Canada which were translated and published in 1992. In 1989 she was inducted into the Order of Canada and in 1998 the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan (accessed 2020)

Born April 22, 1952. Kathy has had a variety of careers from sorting mail, waiting tables to teaching school. She was one of the last teachers to go directly from one year in Teachers’ College into the classroom. While teaching she worked toward a B.A. at the University of Toronto, but she didn’t complete it. She married in 1971, had two children (a son and a daughter), and then divorced. She has been with life partner Peter Carver since 1985. In 1982 she published her first children’s book, Red is Best with Annick Press. Since then Kathy has published more than 2 dozen works including picture books, novels for young adults, historical fiction, short stories, biographies as well as several other works of non-fiction.  Red is Best, Big or Little? and The Bare Naked Book have all been published in 20th or 25th  anniversary editions. Mom and Dad Don’t Live Together Anymore, published in 1984, was revised and re-illustrated in 2007.Mom and Dad Don’t Live Together Anymore, published in 1984, was revised in 2007. Her books have made the Ontario Library Association Top Ten books of the Year listing and the CBC lists Red is Best as one of the top ten Picture books each Canadian Home should have. She has been Writer-in-Residence at various Public Libraries in Southern Ontario including, East York, Toronto, Kitchener and Vaughn. Kathy also has embraced the latest technology as Writer-in-Electronic Residence, linking her to student and Professional writers across Canada. Source: “Kathy Stinson” by Dave Jenkinson CM Magazine, 2006 online (accessed May 2014) ; Personal contact.

née Cordiner. Born 1913, Toronto, Ontario. Died April 19, 2005. At age eleven Bette won an essay competition with the Toronto City Daily which included publication and prize money, and she was hooked on writing for a career. For three years she worked in the Children’s Division of the Toronto Public Library. She married Kenneth Franklin Storin (died 1978). In 1970 Bette and Franklin moved to British Columbia where she started a day care centre and took courses at Camosun College in Victoria earning a Certificate in Early Childhood Development. She organized and ran for ten years her own pre school for 18 children. Bette contributed to the Xerox Weekly Reader, Highlights for Children, Jack and Jill, Country Guide, the Western Producer, Vancouver Sun and many other Canadian and American publications. She has also been published in trade magazines such as Milk Salesman in Pittsburg, and the Chicago Milk Plant Monthly. Her children’s book, The Dreadful Dragon of Dismal Rock was published by Borealis Press in 1985. A prolific writer, 36 of her short stories have been broadcast on the C B C’s “John Drainie Short Story Program” and the “Bernie Braden Short Story Program”, her stories have also been narrated by personalities such as Don Harron and Nonie Griffin. Source: Who’s Who in the Media Club of Canada 1991;Obituary, Times Colonist, April 2005, Online (accessed 2017); Not on Find a grave 2025

née Redman. Born May 17, 1896, London, England. Died January 9, 1968, Ottawa, Ontario. Married December 23, 1918, in 1920 she emigrated to Canada with her husband Major Harry. John Latimer Strange and they worked a farm in the Canadian west. In 1923 they won the World Wheat Championship in Chicago. By 1928 she had contributed various articles to Canadian magazines. In 1937 she won an award for her non-fiction work, With the West in her Eyes, which was a description of her own early farming life. During her career she would compose some 60 short stories that would be published. She also published Never a Dull Moment (1941) the memoirs of her husband. Source:  Early Canadian Women Writers online (accessed 2025);Not on Find a Grave 2025.

née Sonego. Born 1824, Credit River, Canada West (now Ontario. Died September 26, 1865, Owen Sound, Canada West (now Ontario). Catherine was educated at the Ojibway Methodist mission school until 1837. Adopted by Peter and Eliza Jones she traveled to long, England with them in 1838. In 1839 she married William Sutton, an English immigrant shoemaker. Her first child died at six months but nine additional children survived. In 1846 the family relocated to Owen Sound where they famed. For five years they spent time at the Garden River Reserve and then on a Michigan reserve helping with a Methodist mission before returning to Owen Sound. In 1860 she was advocating for their land with the Colonial Secretary and Queen Victoria in England. She also spoke to such groups as the Aboriginal Protection Society. Back in Canada she continued to stand for Indigenous rights. Her writings were published in the Brantford Courier, the Christian Guardian, Toronto, the Friends Intelligencer, Philadelphia, U.S.A., The Leader, New York, U.S.A., the Liverpool Courrier, England and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. Source: Early  Canadian  Women  Writers (2022) Not on Find a Grave 2025

Born Toronto, Ontario. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University in 1954, and later earned her Masters Degree at the University of Toronto (U of T) , 1972. Her work in the Toronto entertainment industry has included being a casting director of feature films such as Margaret’s Museum, as well as major Canadian and American television series such as Road To Avonlea; she has won two Anik awards, and was nominated for an Emmy. She hosted her own daily CBC radio program, and the weekly public affairs television series Some of The People. In 2000 she founded ANNE TAIT PRODUCTIONS to develop and produce quality feature films and dramatic television. The 2009 award winning film Iron Road was her first as a co-producer. Sources: Anne Tait Collection, E. J. Pratt Library, University of Victoria Campus, University of Toronto. Online. (accessed July 2013). Submitted by Jeanne Ouellette, Ottawa, Ontario.

 Henriette Tassé 

Gladys Taylor

née Tall. Born 1917, Swan River, Manitoba. Died May 31, 2015, Airdrie, Alberta.  Gladys  trained as a teacher and taught in Winnipeg for several years. In 1940 she married Lorne Taylor in 1940 During World War II.  Lorne served in the Canadian Forces and from 1943 Gladys served in the Canadian Women's Army Corps. At war end the couple settled to Thetford Mines, Quebec. The housewife and mother of 4 began writing fiction as a hobby, and won the Ryerson Press Award for best novel of the year twice  for her works Pine Roots, 1956 and The King Tree, 1958.. She also served for several years as editor of Canadian Bookman & Quarterly, the quarterly trade publication of the Canadian Authors Association. Divorced at age 50, Gladys moved west to Alberta. She became editor for the publication Western Leisure, which she eventually bought. She expanded the business by acquiring a network of community newspapers, including The Wheel and Deal, the Rocky View Five Village Weekly, the Carstairs Courier and the Airdrie Advance. In 1983 she was Calgary’s Businesswoman of the year. In 1984 she published which was based on her tour of Australia in 1977.  Alone in the Australian Outback which was the basis for the 1992 film Over the Hill.  In 1987, she published Alone in the Boardroom, a memoir of her experience as a woman in business at a time when that was still a rarity in that era. She ran as an independent candidate in the Alberta Senate nominee election, 1989, finishing fourth of six candidates. Her 5th  book, Valinda, Our Daughter, 1993. The book tells of the Egypt Air Flight 648 hijacking, with a focus on one of the Canadian passengers. The town of Irricana, Alberta has named the public library in her honor. Sources: Gladys Taylor, Who’s Who in the Media Club of Canada 1991; Obituary, Calgary Herald, June 4, 2015.

Born November 2, 1879, London, England. Died January 26, 1957, Canterbury, England. Ada published her first book in England in 1907. Two years later she immigrated to Islay, Alberta to be with her sister's family. After the death of her sister's baby Ada worked to improve medical services in rural Alberta. In 1912 she published an autobiographical novel, A White Passion to raise funds to build the local Lady Minto Hospital. Back in England she worked as a Matron for Prison services and continued to produce novels. Using the pen name Captain Harcourt she published Bob Quested's Troop: A Tale of Prairie Scouts. published in 1912. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers  (accessed 2020)

Born 1853, Appleton, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 21, 1924, Toronto, Ontario. She was educated at the Genesee College located in New York State, U.S.A. Between 1901 and 1913 she would publish some six books including The Village Artist (Toronto 1905), and Candlelight Days (Toronto, 1913). Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

Born May 25, 1974, Vancouver, British Columbia. Madeleine studied contemporary dance at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia and then switched to creative writing to earn her Master's degree. In 2001 she published her 1st book of short stories and also published a children's book based on the film The Chinese Violin. In 2002 she earned the City of Vancouver Book Award for her book of short stories called, Simple Recipes. Her 1st novel was published in 2006 followed with more novels in 2007 & 2008. She did a study tour of the U.S.A. for a couple of years and from 2010 to 2015 she was part of the International Faculty at the University of Hong Kong. In 2013 she served as Writer-in-residence at Simon Fraser University. In 2016 her novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing won the Governor General's English Fiction Award.  Madeleine lives in Montreal, Quebec with her partner Raui Haye. (2019)

SEE - Academics

Born October 25, 1845, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Died April 24, 1891, Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 1863 Rebecca obtained her teacher's certificate after graduating from the Provincial Teacher's College. She would teach in Fredericton for several years and had a good reputation for her work. Relocating to Lancaster (Saint John West), New Brunswick she began writing stories for newspapers. By 1878 she was back in Fredericton where her novel Lady Rosamond's Secret: a Romance of Fredericton appeared as a serial in the Daily Telegraph. The novel provides interesting glimpses of live in Fredericton in the 1820's. She would pen a series on 'Old Landmarks of Fredericton' in the Fredericton Capital in 1880 which included the story of Rose Hall the former home of Benedict Arnold (1741-1801). January 22, 1885 she married John G. Thompson. After her marriage she continued to write novels. After her death there was family drama concerning her estate that rivaled the fiction novels she had written. Source: D C B; Early Canadian Women Writers . (2020)

Born December 9, 1893, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 29, 1934, Toronto, Ontario. As the daughter of Henry L. Thompson, president of Copp Clark Publishers, one might consider that the door for a career was already open to her. Open door or not, one must have talent to consider a writing career. Dora would leave a legacy of some eight books for young Canadian readers. Her writings, usually had the title of the name of a Canadian girl and  told the story of their lives with attention to their school live, church life and good deeds. As an author she showed acceptance for multiculturalism showing warmth and concern for European immigrant families in her fictional community life. Source: Find a Grave, Online (accessed 2020)

'Auntie Abbie'

née Boardman. Born December 5, 1815, Newburyport, Massacheutts, U.S.A. Died June 17, 1882, St. Stephen, New Brunswick. At 16 she joined her family in Calais, Maine, U.S.A. where she would teach school and writ stories for the Youth's Companion out of Boston. In 1838 she married a millionaire businessman Freeman Hale Todd and the couple settled in his hometown of St Stephen, New Brunswick. The couple had eight children. While recuperating from an illness at the Round Hill water-cure establishment in Northampton, Maine, U.S.A. she began to write stories for children using the name 'Auntie Abbie' These stories were published by the American Baptist Publishing House. In 1869 the Round Hill Series of Sunday School Books were published. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers online  (accessed 2020)

Born June 15, 1937, Timmins, Ontario. Lola studied comparative literature at the University of Alberta, Calgary. This bilingual author has produced books in both of Canada's official languages. Her strong command of her second language, English, can be seen in her poetic publications. She has also translated several notable authors who have written works in either French or English for publication in the other language. Her books of poems and her novels express feelings of female life experiences such as pregnancy and birth as well as loss of immediate family members in death. Her short fiction appeared in French in XYZ-La Revue de la Nouvelle and in the anthology, Closets of Time. She was writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario, London. She teaches creative writing at York University, Toronto, and is contributing editor of Open Letter, a Canadian journal of writing and theory.  Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2020)

Born October 13, 1955, Zagreb, Yugoslavia (Croatia).  At only a few days old her mother left Croatia to join the baby’s Canadian Father. Teresa’s early life was rather unsettling with the family moving 17 times from city to city to city. Unfortunately her father died when she was only seven months old. Her first career choice was to be a mermaid. But practicality of life took over. She attended the University of Toronto and completed a Masters in Political Science just in time to marry and mover to Montreal. Once settled she worked as a freelance broadcaster for Radio Canada International before moving to Ottawa, Toronto, New York City and back again to Toronto. In between moves 2 daughters were born and she decided to become a stay at home mother. During this time she turned to writing. She also became involved as a volunteer with Frontier College and teaching English as a second language. Her writing has been mainly for young readers and has resulted in numerous books having been published starting in 1995. According to Teresa writing is almost as good as being a mermaid! Source: Teresa Toten by Dave Jenkinson CM Magazine Profile online (accessed January 2007). (2020)

née Strickland. Born January 9, 1802, London, England. Died August 29, 1899, Selwyn, Ontario. After the death of their father in 1818 the Strickland daughters, there were five sisters turned to writing to supplement the family income. At 16, Catherine was writing children's books. Her first book The Tell Tale: an Original Collection of Moral and Amusing Stories was published anonymously in 1818. This pioneer came to Upper Canada (now Ontario) with her retired army lieutenant husband, Thomas Traill in 1832.The young couple were no doubt encouraged on their endeavor to immigrate to Canada by Catherine's sister, Susanna Moodie (1803-1885) who also soon immigrated. The couple settled near what is now Peterborough, Ontario, which at that time was a backwoods area. Catherine wrote of the life around her in what was then The Canadas in her book, The Backwoods of Canada in 1836. In 1854 she published the Female Emigrant's Guide which outlined the skills necessary for a new settled in the Canadian backwoods. This book would later be republished as the Canadian Settler's Guide.  Her sister, Susanna Moodie would also become a well known Canadian author. In 1840 the Trails and Moodies both moved to the city of Belleville, Ontario. in 1865 Catherine would also note the flora of the region in her Canadian Wild Flowers, Studies of Plant Life in Canada in 1885 and Rambles in the Canadian Forest. In 1996 the book I Bless You in My Heart: Selected Correspondence of Catherine Parr Trail was published. Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, named their downtown campus after her. Catharine Parr Traill College is the University's main college for graduate studies. In 2008 as part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the National Library of Canada Canada Post issued a series of stamps featuring early Canadian writers that included both Catherine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie. Source: D C B 2005

née Newton. Born October 31, 1879, Quebec City, Quebec. Died August 10, 1964, Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Newton family relocated to Winnipeg. Constance became, like many of her generation, a teacher and worked at a private school. In 1910 she married William Andrew Travers Sweatman (1879-1941) and the couple had four children. Constance would write three novels, the first of which appeared in 1926. She would also write several radio plays and dabbled in poetry. Her 1927 novel, Half Prince, had been serialized at first in MacLean's prior to being transformed into a play in 1931. In 1940 the couple relocated to Toronto. Source: Early  Canadian Women Writers online (accessed 2022)

Born July 2, 1887, Laurierville, Quebec. Died November 27, 1977, Orleans, Ontario. Marie-Rose completed her university studies at the University of Ottawa and remained the city as a journalist and writer. She collaborated on the Annales de l’institut Canadien-français d’Ottawa, Revue Moderne and was editor of the women’s pages of the French language newspaper Le Droit from 1934-1950. In May 1925 she was appointed to the French secretariat of the Council of Women in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. She was an active member of the Canadian Women’s Press Club, the Société d’étude et de conferences, the Société de écrivains des canadiens-française and the Association of Women Journalists. She began to publish books in 1920, 1930, and in 1933 she published two more books. In 2005 the Ontario Heritage Foundation erected an historic plaque in Ottawa commemorating her life and work. Source: ‘Marie-Rose Turcot, journalist and author’, Ottawa raconte-moi Online (accessed July 2015)

Georgette Vachon

Born 1900, Lac-à-La-Tortue, Québec. Died February 7, 1987, Ottawa, Ontario. After graduating from Laval University Georgette studied at St Germain-des-Prés, France. In 1924 she married civil aviation pioneer, Romeo Vachon. The couple would had four children. In 1944 the family settled in Ottawa. She was one of the founders of the Ottawa Branch and also served as president of La Société d’étude et de conference. She also found time to set up guided tours of the National Gallery of Canada. She was a member of the Female Journalists’ Circle of Ottawa. She would write her husband’s biography entitled Romeo Vachon: distinguished Canadian Aviator in 1969. Still in the aviation theme in 1974 she penned Goggles, Helmets and Airmail Stamps and it the following year she published Images of Romeo Vachon. For six years she was in charge of the historical documents of the Royal Canadian Air Force. She served on the Board of Directors of L’Alliance française d ‘Ottawa serving as chair 1954/5. She founded Christ–Roi Branch of the L’Alliance française des femmes Canadiennes-française in Ottawa. On May 16, 1967 she received the L’Alliance française medal from the French Ambassador. Source: Georgette Vachon, Community Leader and Author, Ottawa raconte-moi. Online (accessed July 2015)

Born January 19, 1941, Toronto, Ontario. Died January 12, 2023, Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.A. Charlotte lived with an overbearing father who was physical with her. She left high school to take up her teen passion and studied formal night classes in acting. She once dressed as a messenger boy to take a fan letter to actor Bette Davis. Davis was smitten by the letter and she became friends with the young upstart. Escaping her home situation she moving to England and worked from 1961-1964 in sleazy night spots to make a living. In the mid the 1960’s she brought her career back to Canada. Married in 1970, she soon became an urban mother to a beautiful daughter. By 1975 the urge to write became strong and she wrote her only non-fiction book, Daddy’s Girl, about her abusive childhood. The subject of the book was not popular in that era and she would publish some fifteen works of fiction before she would get this ground breaking work to readers. She penned over thirty books which have been grabbed up by the public, mainly in the United Kingdom ,where she is one of the most borrowed authors from libraries. Her books sell in over twenty countries but yet she is not overly recognized in Canada. She developed her own press to publish her own commercial fiction. Her stories deal with strong feisty women who discover that they can take care of themselves when it comes to living with adversity. She also writes under the pen name of Katherine Marlowe. She divides her time between her home in Toronto and a second home in Connecticut. Sources: “Ignored at Home. Successful Abroad” by Diane Frances MacLean’s October 15, 1999: Canadian Who’s Who 2005 (University of Toronto Press, 2005)

Born September 9, 1964, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Died April 7, 2005, Toronto, Ontario. As a child Yvonne was the first Black person to get a library card at the whites only Public Library in Bulawayo. She came to the University of Toronto (U of T), and attained her undergraduate and graduate degrees, including her Doctorate Degree (PhD) in record time and got married She was drawn back to her troubled homeland of Zimbabwe with her need to write. She would publish five novels and a collection of short stories, all of which have been translated into several languages. Acknowledgement of her talent came in awards such as the Commonwealth Writers Prize for African 1999 and the Swedish PEN Tucholsk Prize which recognizes works on taboo subjects. She wrote about problems in her native land, such as: incest, abortion, rape, infanticide and suicide. The B B C World Services has produced a two hour work which serves as a biography of this courageous writer. Evidently, when she wanted to write she would check herself into a hotel for three weeks and emerge with a manuscript such as Butterfly Burning (1998). Perhaps the fast track studies at York University, Toronto, and the three weeks production of a manuscript were part of the knowledge that having AIDS meant she did not have a long time to do what she wanted to achieve in her lifetime. Source: Obituary, Zim author Yvonne Vera died, News24, April 9, 2005, online (accessed 2009)

Born January 24, 1953, Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec. Marie earned her Bachelor's degree in history and philosophy at  the Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec. As a journalist she has worked for and contributed works to various Quebec publications including Le Devoir, La Press canadienne and Le Droit. She is the founder of L'Agence littéaire Alinéa. Her 1st book, L'Enfant cigarier was published in 1999 and as of 2012 she has published 6 books in Quebec. (2019)

SEE - Poets

SEE - Military

Born January 28, 1885,  Coulson, Ontario. Died ???? Elizabeth graduated from the Macdonald Institute (now part of the University of Guelph) Guelph, Ontario in 1908. By 1912 she was working as an assistant flour tester for Pillsbury Milling Company , Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. By 1971 she was listed in the Winnipeg, Manitoba, directory. In 1917 the Purity Cook Book under her name was the first cookbook promoting the use of Purity Flour. The book was reprinted in 1923 and 1932. Also in 1917 she was involved with the Thrift Cook Book that came from the War Relief Auxiliary of Toronto. Funds raised went to various associations working for the World War l (1914-1918) war effort. In 1934 she was a staff member of the Ontario Women’s Institute. In 1975 the a facsimile of the original Purity Flour Cook Book was published by Coles. Source: Culinary Landmarks: Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks 1825-1949 by Elizabeth Driver, University of Toronto Press.; Not on find a grave 2025

née Doherty. Born October 24, 1909, New Westminster, British Columbia. Died February 1, 1998, Nanaimo, British Columbia. She earned her Bachelor degree from the University of British Columbia in 1931 and went on to earn her Masters' degree in 1933. She worked as an elementary and high school teacher in various locations in British Columbia.  In 1941 she married poet Wilfred Watson (19911-1998).She taught at Toronto's Moulton Ladies College for two years in the mid 1940's and then lectured at the University of British Columbia for two years.  From 1957 to 1964 she she worked on her thesis for her PhD degree from the University of Toronto.  Her novel Double Hook, written in the early 1950's was turned down by numerous publishers. Finally published in 1959 it is considered the point for the beginning of contemporary writing in Canada. In 1961 she worked as a professor of English at the University of Alberta. She and her poet husband were founders of the White Pelican which published from 1971 through 1975 and won the Governor General's Award in 1973.  She was awarded for her writings the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. Sheila retired from teaching in 1975 and the following year she and her husband relocated to Nanaimo, British Columbia. Source: Obituary, Quill & Quire November 27, 2010.

née Zamikoff.  Sydell attended Toronto Teacher’s College and when she began teaching in primary grade school she also took on the position of teacher librarian. She is married with three children. For a while she wrote stories for various Canadian and American magazine. She then became interested and wondered why women’s life stories were not being told. She too a course in women’s studies at the Women’s Resource Centre at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education. She also did some historical research and produced her 1st book, a biography for young readers about Canada’s 1st practicing woman doctor Emily Stowe (1831-1903) called Changing the Pattern. The book won the Toronto Heritage Award of Merit in 1990 and the Our Choice Seal for Best Canadian Children’s Book. Her book Storytelling Around the World won the Rooster Prize.  Another biography that Sydell has written for young readers, Believing in Books: the Story of Lillian Smith, won the 2002 Frances E. Russell Award from the International Board on Books for Young People (I B B Y). It is the story of the Toronto woman who was 1st children’s librarian in the British Commonwealth. Famous Canadian Women sincerely hopes that more books for young readers telling the stories of Canadian women is part of the future plans for this author.

Born May 20, 1865, Manchester, England. Died March 11, 1943, Toronto, Ontario. In 1880 Emily emigrated with her parents to Canada settling at first near Waterloo, (Canada West) and then in Toronto. She began writing short stories and historical essays for Canada, English and American magazines. In 1890 her novel, My Lady Nell won a prize from the Congregationalist Society of Boston. At the turn of the century she would spend some time in Halifax but soon returned to live in Toronto. Emily would study and become a well known author and historian. She published more than a dozen books in the field of Canadian history including: A Canadian History For Boys (Toronto, 1905); The Stories of Counties of Ontario (Toronto, 1913) and Canada and the British Immigrant (London, 1914). She also wrote a play; Good Times: a Book of Dialogues for School Entertainment. She was a member of the Canadian Women's Press Club (C W P C), the Canadian Authors Association, the Equal Franchise League, the Ontario Historical Society, the Toronto Women's Historical Society, and the Women's Canadian Club. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers., Online

née Smith. Died 1933. A writer of local history she is best remembered for her Jubilee History of Thorold Township. (Thorold, ON, 1898). The original edition had now name of the author but when the work was re-issued in 1933 Wetherell's name appeared as the author of the work.

Born April 29, 1902, Gresham, Oregon, U.S.A. Died November 27, 1982, Denman Island, British Columbia. Moving to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Frances graduated from Normal School (Teacher's College) and began teaching at seventeen. She then attended the University of Alberta to earn her Bachelor of Arts. It was while she was at university she wrote her first novel which she never published. In the 1920's she was director for Chautauquas in Canada. This was an adult educational and social movement. In 1924 she married Wilfred Wees and the couple had two children. One of her early handwritten manuscripts was found by her husband he typed it and sent it to a New York Publisher. Frances would go on to write more than two dozen mystery and romance novels including The Maestro murders in 1931. In the 1930's she worked in Toronto in public relations. During the second world war she led the national clothing drive for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.  She also wrote serial fiction, poems and articles which were published in various magazines of the day as well ad publishing readers for primary school. She moved from her home in Stouffville, Ontario to Denman Island, British Columbia in 1981. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, online

née Kesslering. Born 1928, Viceroy, Saskatchewan Died December 2018, Toronto, Ontario. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1949 from the University of Saskatchewan. she took a job in Regina with the Commonwealth, the Saskatchewan C C F weekly where, as the only reporter on staff, she covered everything, had a column and even wrote an editorial. Her next job was with the Regina Leader-Post. In the 1950s she spent two years as a foreign service officer in Ottawa and New York.  She married Robert John Weiers (died 2002) and the couple had one son. She did some freelance work in Canada and Africa and, in 1963, joined the Toronto Star where she remained until her retirement in 1991. At the Star she was, in turn, reporter, feature writer, and writer of editorials as a member of the newspaper’s editorial board. She won a Canadian Women’s Press Club (C W P C) award for news reporting in 1969.  Margaret joined the Heliconian Club in 1979, has served on the Executive Committee, was co-editor of The Bulletin for 10 years and served on the Board of Management of the Heliconian Hall Foundation as president. That same year 1979, she became the first journalist to receive a special award from the American Association on Mental Deficiency for the citation called Socially Responsible Journalism. She wrote the book, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the Canadian Foreign Service, (Toronto, Dundurn Press, 1995). In October 2009 she was named one of a number of Alumni of Influence by the University of Saskatchewan. Source: Duff Spofford,  ‘Stop the Presses! Looking back on 100 years of Sheaf Alumni in the Media. (Part 4, 1946-1952)’, The Sheaf, September 18, 2012; Obituary, December 19, 2018, Toronto Star, Online (accessed 2025)  Not on Find a Grave 2025

Born April 21, 1928, Calgary, Alberta. Died June 15, 2018, Kamloops, British Columbia. Raised in Calgary, Alberta, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Joan attended the University of Manitoba. She worked in advertising at Eaton's department store where she had great fun with Radio programs such as the Santa Claus program. This was her introduction to writing. While she has written history and biography non-fiction for adults she has received the most of her joy from writing for teenagers. She married a doctor in 1955 and stopped work to stay at home with her four children but she still found time to research and write. In 2000 her book, The Brideship and the Principal's Kid, won the British Columbia Centennial Book Award. Along with her books she penned scripts for TV series such as 'Fifteen' on the Nickelodeon Network. She was also a teacher providing classes in creative writing at University College of the Caribou where she is commemorated on the University's Pioneer Wall. Since 2023 Thompson Rivers University offers a Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Writing in her name. You may find many of her over 20 books at your library!  Source: Memorial award recognizes local author, Thompson Rivers University, August 17, 2022, online (accessed 2022)

née Westlake. Born 1856, Ingersoll, Canada East (now Ontario). Died March 4, 1906, London, Ontario. Kate wrote her first published item, Stranger Than Fiction, as a serial. After the death of her brother in 1881 she replaced him as an editor of the St. Thomas Journal. She went on to become editor of the Fireside Weekly, a family story paper published in Toronto. At times she used the pen name 'Aunt Polly Wogg'. In 1981, a year after the death of the famous Chief Sitting Bull, she published Sitting Bull's White Ward, which, at first, was published as an anonymous author.  In 1892 she married Frank Yeigh ad fellow author. She often wrote for Canadian Magazine and in 1906 she published A Specimen Spinster, a book about the views on life of Aunt Polly Wolly. Source: D C B online (accessed 2023) Not on Find a Grave 2025

Born April 26, 1857, Rockwood, Ontario. Died March 9, 1940, Pelham, Ontario. The family relocated to Pennsylvania, U.S.A. for two years where her father was superintendent of Haverford College. Back in Canada, Ethelwyn was sent to Friends' Boarding School, Union Springs, New York, U.S.A. While she never married she did adopt a daughter. She was a published poet and journalist and co-authored an historical romance novel, An Algonquin Maiden in 1887.  In 1895 she published her 1st collection of poems and followed this up with additional publications in 1902 and 1904. She also contributed her writings to the Christian Union, the Chicago Current, The Week, the Canadian Monthly, and Saturday Night. Using the pen name Bel Thistlethwaite she worked as an editor for The Globe in Toronto and The Advertiser out of London, Ontario. She also worked as an assistant to the editor of the Ladies Home Journal and the World's Best Literature magazines. When she was a senior she continued to write under her own name and occasionally she used the pen name Octo which was short for octogenarian. Her daughter would publish a collection of her mother's works posthumously. Source: Introduction - Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald, Library, Brock University, Online (accessed 2019)

Born April 8, 1937, Muscowpetung First Nation, Saskatchewan. Died September 10, 2005, Regina, Saskatchewan. In the 1940's Bernelda and her family moved to Churchill, Manitoba where she attended Bertie and Brandon residential Schools. In 1954 she became a disc jockey for C F H C a C B C Northern Service radio station in Churchill. She attended the University of Manitoba for a short time and then turned to a career in journalism and broadcasting. She penned newspaper columns in Western Canada including three regular columns for Eagle Feather News. For ten years after 1972 she was a host, producer, investigative journalist, and writer for the C B C radio program Our Native Land. It was here that she earned the name as First Lady of Native Broadcasting in Canada'. In 1982 she received a special award for Native Broadcasting in Canada.  In 1991 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. She also worked on stage and on television in the series Big Bear. She authored several books including in 1992, Where Did You Get Your Moccasins, and I Can't Have Bannock But the Beaver Has a Dam in 1993. In 2002 she was the Citizen of the year with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nationals Circle of Honor. In 2005 she earned the Rebel With a Cause Award from the Elizabeth Fry Society. Source: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2022); Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2022)

Born 1829, Bath, England. Died January 7, 1888, Hamilton, Ontario. Harriet emigrated to Canada as a child with her family and settled in Hamilton, Canada West (Ontario). After the death of her father and with her mother in poor health Harriett she taught school and taught music from the family home. She wrote and published poetry in the Poets Corner of the Spectator  Journal of Commerce, and Canadian Illustrated News. Between 1851 and 1882 she would publish five books all of which attained contemporary acceptance. Source: D C B 2005; Not on Find a grave 2025

Born 1901, London, England. Died November 23, 1986. In 1904 the family emigrated to Qu’Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan. Marjorie was educated in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and Toronto, Ontario.  She married Angus Campbell, a surgeon, in 1931 and continued to work as a writer and editor working for Magazine Digest, Chatelaine, Saturday Night and MacLean’s. She would publish 14 books mainly historical fiction and the biography of Colonel Baker of the Canadian National Institute of the Blind (C. N. I. B.) called No Compromise. Her writing garnered her multiple awards including from the Canada Council, a Guggenheime Fellowship. She earned as well the Governor General’s award in literature in non-fiction in 1950 and in 1954 for Juvenile Fiction for her work the Nor’Westers.   She was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada.  Her papers are maintained in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online,

Born October 2, 1889, Dundalk, Ontario. Died January 20, 1970, North Saarnich, British Columbia. Flos spent her youth attending Jarvis High school in Toronto and after she attended Normal School (teachers' college) in Toronto to obtain her teaching certificate. She taught in Bobcageon and the Karawtha Lakes District, and then back to Toronto. On April 23, 1923 she married David Selkirk Williams (1882-1963) a traveling salesman. In 1923 the young couple had settled in Calgary where they raised their twin sons. Finding herself alone with her husband on the road for his job she began writing. In 1925 she submitted a book an won runner up prize of $2500.00 from Hodder & Stoughton Publishers. She wrote poetry and short stories along with magazine articles that were published in various well known Canadian periodicals. In 1949 she won a prize from Ryerson Press for her book Fold Home which was set in the Caraboo District of British Columbia. She relocated to the west Coast later in life. Her house at 5 Rose Ave, in Cabbagetown, an inner neighborhood in Toronto, is marked with an historic plaque, from the local heritage group. Sources: Cabbagetown People : The social history of a Canadian Inner City Neighborhood. Online (accessed March 2014) ; Flos Jewell Williams, Digital Collections, Library, Simon Fraser University. Online (accessed March 2014)

Born Toronto, Ontario. Died December 15, 1938. née MacMurchy. In 1926 she married Sir John Willison and became Lady Willison. She would write some five books between 1916 and 1937: The Woman Bless Her (Toronto, 1916); The Canadian Girl at Work (Toronto. 1919); The Child's House (London 1923); Golden Treasury of Famous Books (Toronto, 1929); The Longest Way Round (Toronto, 1937).

née Archibald. Born May 2, 1927, Nova Scotia. Died March 19, 2021, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Budge attended Dalhousie University, Halifax, graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in 1949. Post graduate studies followed at the University of Toronto (U of T) and by 1953 she had obtained a Diploma of Education as well as a certificate in physical education. That same year she married Alan Wilson and together they had two children. She had taught English at Halifax Ladies College prior to working at the Institute of Child study at U of T. She would also work at the Toronto Public Library and Acadia University. In 1968 she was a fitness instructor with the Peterborough County Board of Education and at the Young Women's Christian Association (Y W C A) in Ontario. working to 1987. An acclaimed author, Budge did not begin her writing career until she was in her 50's. Her first book, The Best/Worst Christmas Present Ever appeared in 1984 when she was 56. Her writings began winning awards with the CBC Fiction Award in 1981. She has won among some 25 other awards the Atlantic Writing Competition for fiction, the Canadian Library Association Award, the Mariana Dempster Award, and the Thomas Randall Award. Most of her books, more than 30 titles, were for youth although she often writes with adults in mind. In 1989 she and her husband relocated to Nova Scotia. In 1998 she was inducted into the  Her works have been published in eleven countries and nine different languages. Perhaps you have read some of her books? The Leaving (1990), The Courtship (1994), Cordelia Clark (1994), Fractures (2002), and Friendships (2006) are a few of the titles she has written. In 2004 she was inducted into to the Order of Canada. In 2008, well known for her five collections of short stories, she was selected to write  prequel, Before Green Gables, in celebration of 100 years of Anne. In 2011 she was inducted into the Order of Nova Scotia and in 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2016 she published a collection of poetry, After Swissair.  Source: Information submitted by Alan Wilson; Obituary on Legacy (accessed 2021)

née Bryant. Born January 20, 1888, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Died December 22, 1980, Vancouver, British Columbia. After the death of her parents when Ethel was ten she immigrated to Canada to live with her grandmother. She was educated at private schools in Canada and England before returning to attend the Vancouver Normal School (teacher’s college). After graduating in 1907 she taught public school until her marriage to Dr. Wallace Wilson in 1927.  Ethel began writing in 1937 with her early stories being published in British magazines. In 1947 she published her first novel, Hetty Dorva. From 1947-57, she wrote four more novels, best known being Swamp Angel, Mrs. Golightly and Other Stories, her last published work, appeared in 1964. She received a special Canada Council medal for contributions to Canadian literature and the Lorne Pierce Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. She was inducted into the Order of Canada and in 1970 received the Canada Medal of Service. British .Columbia's top fiction writing prize is named for her. In 1888 D. Stouck edited the book, Ethel Wilson: Stories, Essays and Letters. Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia online : The Vancouver Hall of Fame Online accessed November 2012.

Born May 21, 1928, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died June 1, 1992, Toronto, Ontario. Adel graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1949. She took on a variety of jobs including teaching at the Overseas School of Rome, Italy for a year in 1951. In 1955 she was in England volunteering for the Jewish Girls’ Hospital in Stepney. Back in Canada she supported herself working as a lab tech and as secretary to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. During this time she was working on her 1st novel The Sacrifice which was published in 1956 winning the Governor’s General Award for 1957 as well as the Beta Sigma Phi Award. She then was writer-in-residence at the University of Windsor in Ontario. From 1957-1960 she worked on a Guggenheim fellowship in New York City, U.S.A. From 1961-1962 she worked on writing children’s stories while living in London, Ontario. In 1964-1969 she was living in Montreal, Quebec and lecturing at Sir George Williams University and other institutions. She received a Canada Council Senior Arts Award to work on her 3rd novel and was writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto which she followed up with taking similar positions as other Ontario universities. Along with her novels and children’s books she had plays published as well as essays and nonfiction works. Source: Jewish Women's Archives, Online

Born July 14, 1948, Munich Germany. She moved with her family and would grow up in Manhattan (New York City) where she attended the University of New York. She studied for her Masters in Special Education at Ferkauf Graduate School and then began working with disabled adults. She married  and settled in Toronto where the couple adopted 2 children. She started writing books and became hooked on writing before publishers became hooked on publishing her works. The early refusals only empowered her energy and her determination. She has published mainly for the your market. Her works have introduced youth lives of famous people such as Frederick Law Olmstead, the "man who made parks",  Einstein in " what's the matter with Albert' and Marie Currie in 'Maya's dream'. She enjoys writing about scientists, she tells fan, but doesn't mean to become one. A prolific writer, since 1997 she has produced almost 20 books, published in Canada, the USA and Great Britain.

Born December 28, 1867, Lanarkshire, Scotland.  Died May 1, 1927, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. In 1869 the Wood amily immigrated to the U.S.A. settling in Irving. New York. They then relocated to the area of Guelph, Ontario. From 1887 to 1901 she was in New York City, U.S.A. with her brother William.  In the hay day of her writing contemporary magazines hailed this author as the Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, or the Nathanial Hawthorne of Canada. She was rated as one of the top three Canadian authors along with Gilbert Parker and Charles C.D. Roberts. It was with the support of her family that she was encourage to have her writings published as early as 1890. A daughter of Witches was published as a serial, a chapter at a time, in the Canadian Magazine in 1898. Critics described her characters as “vivid and magnetic.” During a trip to England it was rumoured that she was engaged to poet Algernon Charles Swinburne but no real evidence of this has been found. In 1901 she was living in Niagara region, Ontario with her widowed mother. and was the highest paid Canadian fiction writer. Her last novel, Farden Ha' in 1902. It is not really known why the novels stopped in 1902. She did present lectures in local history but did not present the information in print. In 1907 she joined the Niagara Historical Society.  By 1914 she was living in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. In 1927  a newspaper reported she has suffered a nervous breakdown some years ago causing her to abandon her writing. In 1994 her work, The Untempered Wind, was republished in a centenary edition.   Source: D C B , Online (accessed 2021).

née Vining. Born April 10, 1826, Clarendon, New York State, U.S.A. Died March 6, 1897, Peebles Corners, Ingersoll,
Ontario. After her training and some teaching experience in the U.S.A. in 1860 Pamelia was appointed instructor of English at the Canadian Literary Institute, Woodstock, Canada West (now Ontario). She met and married James Cotton Yule (1839-1876). Resigning from her teaching position upon her marriage in 1866 and the couple settled in Brantford, Ontario, where her husband ran a private grammar school. Within two years James had accepted a pastorship and they lived in York Mill, Ontario. Pamelia enjoyed writing poetry contribution to various publications including Canadian Baptist,  Canadian Illustrated News, Canadian Monthly and National Review in Canada and Emerson's Magazine in New York, Literary Miscellany in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. She published Poems of the Heart (Toronto, 1881). Pamelia would use a variety of signatures for her work including using the pen names 'Emillia' and 'Xenette'. She would publish an additional four books including Records of a Vanished Life : lectures, addresses etc. of James Cotton Yule (Toronto, 1876) in memory of her late husband.  Source: D C B; Early Canadian Women Writers, Online

Born August 14, 1953, Cornwall, Ontario. Deborah has always loved to draw and tell stories. In the 1970’s Deborah toured the craft fairs of British Columbia showing hand-woven and hand dyed tapestries. She had produced 5 mega murals displayed in British Columbia. On March 8, 1978 she married Leo Zagwyn and the couple has 2 children. She expanded her artistic talents to watercolour paintings and soft-sculpture works and she has had her works exhibited all along the west coast of Canada. She turned her talents to published stories for children and had brought the stories alive with her won vibrant illustrations. She had produced over 10 books for children winning the Sheila Egoff Children’s Prize in 1989 and in 1995 she was a finalist in the Mr. Christies Book Award. Source: Canadian Who’s Who (Toronto; University of Toronto Press; 1997)

née Granatstein. Born May 6, 1908, Toronto, Ontario. Died March 1, 1996, Toronto, Ontario. Naomi studied music with such well know Canadian as Healey Willan(1880-1968) at the Toronto College of Music and Mona Bates (1889-1971).  at the University of Toronto. She made her debut as a pianist at Massey Hall, Toronto, when she was just 12 years old. She accompanied her first husband John Adaskin (died 1964) in recitals from 1929-1938. The couple had two children. With her piano playing partner, Etta Cole, the duo toured successfully toured North America. In 1939 she became a soloist. She taught at the Toronto Conservatory of Music and wrote articles for various Canadian publications such as the Star Weekly, Chatelaine, and The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto. She was the music critic for the Toronto Daily Star and edited school music texts for Ginn and Co. publishers. In 1979 she married  Reginald Godden.  Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online

née Scott. Born April 6, 1891, Beeton, Ontario. Died December 11, 1971, Mississauga, Ontario. née Scott. As a youth of 14 Kate began teaching. In 1914 she married her childhood sweetheart, Henry M. Aitken (1888-1961) and settled down to farm life. She began a small canning business from her farm in Beeton, and was soon working at speaking engagements with the federal and provincial departments of agriculture. She also began writing articles for farm journals. By World War ll (1939-1945) she was Conservation Director for the Federal Wartime Prices and Trade Board. This was an unpaid position which provided Canadians with a advice to "Use it up, wear it out, make over, make do". She soon found a position as women's editor at the Montreal Standard and had a regular radio program popular across the country. She wrote nine cook books which were still being reprinted in 2024! In addition she was author of a half dozen other books including two autobiographical publications. In 1941 she earned $25,000.00 a year compared to the average wage for men of $3,000.00 per year. In 1950 she earned $5,200.00 a week, one of the highest paid women in the country. She was taping 600 radio broadcasts a year, making 150 speeches a year while still retaining her position as cooking editor of the Montreal Standard newspaper. Her staff responded to 5,000 fan letters a week! During her career she interviewed such world personalities as Hitler, Mussolini, King George, queen Elizabeth, Franklin Roosevelt, and our Canadian Prime Ministers,  King,  St Laurent, and  Pearson. After retiring from broadcasting in 1957 she turned her energies to working for the United Nations, and UNICEF.  Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, online; Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2024)

Born July 17, 1929, Saint-Evariste-de-Forsyth, Quebec. Died May 18, 2018, Quebec. Rolande began her career as a journalist working with L'Ecole de Frontenac. From 1950 for eight years she worked at La Tribune in Sherbrooke as a music critic, editorial writer and editor of the women's pages. By 1961 she was working at Le Devoir, Montreal. She also worked as a script writer for Radio-Canada. She was also known for her contributions of articles to various French language publications. In 1965 she earned the Prix Maxine from the Association des bibliothèquaires de langue française. Two years later she earned the Prix Marie-Lemelin from the Société des poètes canadiens-français. In 1969 she was presented the Prix Juge-Lemai by the Sherbrooke Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. These were followed by the Prix Athanase-David in 1970 and the Prix Judith-Jasmin in 1984  From 1988 to 1990 she served as president of the Cercle des femmes journalistes. She was also known as an author of French language books for children. Source: Bibliotheque et Archives du Quebec, online (accessed 2022)

née Buck. Born November 21, 1921, Calgary Alberta. Died Toronto, Ontario March 2007. In 1940 she graduated from Teachers College. She taught in the rural schools of Alberta to earn money to put herself through the B.A. program at the University of Alberta in 1945. She moved to Toronto hoping to find work as a journalist. She started with menial jobs at the Toronto Star Weekly and as copywriter for Eaton’s Department Stores. In 1949 she decided that she wanted to write fiction and took off for Europe. She did however maintain Canadian ties by writing stories for Maclean’s magazine and Chatelaine Magazine. Returning to Canada in 1951 she worked at Chatelaine , beginning a 20 year career becoming in 1957 editor in Chief of the magazine. In 1957 she married David Anderson. The couple would have three children but the marriage ended in divorce in 1972. In 1974 Doris became a member of the Order of Canada, an award that was changed to Companion of the Order in 2002. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons and accepted a position with the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Her strong personality would eventually see her leave this position but not before pressure made sure that the new Constitution recognized women as equals!. She was the YWCA Woman of Distinction in 1982 and in 1991 she received the Governor’s General Persons Award in recognition for her promotion of the equality for girls and women in Canada. In 1993 she became Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island. In 1998 she was Chair of the Ontario Press Council. In 1984 she returned to her journalism roots working for the Toronto Star newspaper. Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia online (accessed July 2011): Doris Hilda Anderson by Jessica Bedaoui in Biographical Sketches of nine members of the Canadian Women’s Press Club . Ottawa, Media Club of Ottawa, 2011.  Pages 4-5.

Born August 17, 1936 Tesdale, Saskatchewan. Died February 27, 2012, Vancouver, British Columbia. At 15 she won a writing contest in which she was provided with a full scholarship at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta. At 16 she won a National Newspaper Award. She was hooked. Journalism was to be her career. She worked at the Calgary, Albertan and the Herald, the Edmonton Journal newspapers in Alberta as well as the Winnipeg Tribune in Manitoba. While at the Tribune she met Fred Annesley, a fellow reporter. The couple married and had two children. She worked earning herself a daily column in the Toronto Telegram newspaper and later for McLean’s magazine In the early 1970’s she ran Information Services for TVOntario. She retired to Vancouver in 1983 still dappling with some freelance writing. Source: Loves Lived by Belle Laderoule and David Cobb, The Globe and Mail, October 26, 2012. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario

née Scott. Born 1946. Died November 9, 2005, Nobleton, Ontario. Susan chaired the task force that resulted in the creation of Jump Canada, and established the Horse Sport Young Riders Scholarship Fund in 1998 to recognize the top Canadian performers at the annual North American Young Riders’ Championship in the three Olympic disciplines. An avid horsewoman, Susan Jane competed and judged hunters/jumpers, bred and raced Thoroughbreds, published Canada's leading horse magazines including Horse Sport, Horse-Canada and Canadian Thoroughbred, and was a lifelong member of The Toronto & North York Hunt. She made a significant contribution to horse sport both nationally and internationally, serving as a director of Jump Canada, chair of the Media Advisory Committee of the Federation Equestre International (F E I) and, for the last 12 years, President of the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists. Equine Canada create the Susan Jane Anstey Media Award to an exceptional individual who has delivered outstanding media coverage which served to enhance the image of Canadian equine interests to the Canadian Public.  Source: Obituary In Memorium. November 11, 2005. Online. (accessed February 2016).

Born March 6, 1938, South Porcupine, Ontario. As a youth Diane attained her grade nine Royal Conservatory of Music piano exams. Throughout her life she was a welcome volunteer who entertained at local charity events and at senior residences. In 1956 Diane married and the couple raised four children. In 1968 she established the first Candystriper group at the local hospital. It was the first such volunteer group in Northern Ontario. From 1976 to 1979 studied Fine Arts including photography at Northern College, Timmins. From 1974 through 1978 she worked part time selling advertising with the weekly Timmins- Porcupine News. She also worked part time for 13 years with the Sudbury C B C. Believing in always becoming involved in one’s community Diane was a volunteer with the Girl Guides, and other teen groups. She often found herself serving as secretary for various volunteer groups such as the horticultural society, a cottager’s association etc. She would serve as president of the Friends of the Museum where she would help to save on of the Hollinger Mine Workers Houses from demolition. The home is currently located on the grounds of the Timmins Museum. The Hollinger House project earned her an honour from the Ontario Heritage Association. She served on the Provincial Board of the Timmins Housing Authority and on the board of the Spruce Hill Lodge retirement home. September 28, 1998, as a free-lance writer, the Timmins Times printed a weekly column called Over The Hill. She estimated publishing some 1,300 columns by the time she celebrated her 25^th anniversary with the Daily Press. Her columns proved to be so popular that they were republished, beginning in 2000, in a four volume (so far) series of books called Over the Hill. She would also pen a booklet obout George Bannerman, for who a local park was named. The funds from the sale of the booklet helped the Bannerman Park Rejuvenation Committee. During the Timmins Centennial celebrations she was named one of the 100 ‘Faces of Timmins’ with her portrait being a part of  the 100 Faces mural. In 2013 she also published the story of her pioneer grandmother in the book, Mud, Muskeg and Mosquitoes. Just to keep busy, she publishes on various facebook pages for local towns in Northeast Ontario and on the facebook pages All things South Porcupine. Source: I’ll Keep going as long as I’ve go a sharp mind, says local writer, by Kay Butterworth, March 25, 2024, TimminsToday, online (accessed 2024)

Born October 2, 1905, Macoun, Saskatchewan. Died Saskatchewan September 29, 2002. After high school she began teaching but by 1930 she found herself working as a secretary at the Regina Leader-Post. Journalism was to be her career. In 1935 she took a grain ship to France and was  on tour in France when World War ii broke out. Her happenstance allowed her, as the only Canadian journalist on site,  to post articles for the Canadian Press. Between 1936 and 1941 when she was forced to flee Germany,  she became officially named Paris correspondent reporting firs hand on the European conflict. After she fled Europe she dedicated herself to the plight of France. She co-founded the Free the French Association in Canada and traveled throughout North America with her compassionate plea. In 1941, France asked her to return to report on post war life. Her work in France garnered her the order of Chevalier de a Légion d’Honeur, the highest distinction given by the grateful nation of France. In her 80’s her reports from France became the base for her  book: One Woman’s War. Returning to Canada after the War she was head of the Information Service of the French Embassy until retirement in 1971. She would become the subject of a History Television documentary called Eyewitness to War. In 1948 and 1949 she was elected as president of the Canadian Women’s Press Club. With her adventuresome spirit she never stopped looking for a good story. During her lifetime she visited and reported from 60 difference countries. She also  established an additional legacy of perpetual scholarships in French Language and Journalism at the University of Regina. Sources: Biographical Sketches of Nine members of the Canadian Women’s Press Club. Media Club of Ottawa, 2011 page 6. ; Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online accessed July 2011. ; Gladys Arnold Eulogy October 2002. Online (accessed July 31, 2011).

née Harris. Born August 1, 1927, Birmingham, England. Died August 16, 2010, Stratford, Ontario. In 1948 Audrey married James Ashley and the couple moved to Ottawa in 1951. She became Music and Drams Editor with the Ottawa Citizen newspaper in October 1961 covering  all the local theatre companies including the Great Canadian Theatre Company and the companies at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa. She also covered amateur theatre groups such as the Ottawa Little Theatre and the Orpheus Society. She also regularly covers the Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival as well as stage productions in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and New York City, U.S.A. In 1985 she retired from her permanent job and relocated to Stratford Ontario and worked free-lance with the Ottawa Citizen and the Stratford Beacon Herald. By the time she had retired she was the longest serving regular theatre critic in Canada.  In 1999 she published With Love From Butch; A Stratford Actor. Source: Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia online (accessed 2024)

This journalist was the wife of Olivar Joseph Francois Asselin, the founder and proprietor of the newspaper Le Nationaliste, of Montreal. She was a working reporter and correspondent for Le Nationaliste. In 1904 she was a member of a group of women journalists sponsored by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to travel and cover the St Louis World's Fair in 1904. It was during this train trip that the Canadian Women's Press Club was founded. (neither she nor husband on Find a grave.)

née Daye. Born February 4, 1906, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died January 21, 1999, New Brunswick. She enjoyed writing even in public school. In grade eight she wrote a story about a child in World War l (1914-1918) and won a Saint John city wide prize for her work. In her 20’s her stories were published in the United Church Sunday School Papers. She also wrote stories and plays for radio. In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s she worked at the New Brunswick Museum Archives. On June 22, 1937 she married Arthur Richard Ayling and  settled in Moncton, New Brunswick. The couple had two sons. After her marriage she wrote stories for the popular national publication the Family Herald and the Canadian Red Cross Junior Magazine.  Vera joined the Canadian Women’s Press Club in 1944 where she served numerous times as president of the New Brunswick Branch as well as serving on the National Executive several times. She was a feature writer for the Saint John Telegraph-Journal, a career that covered 65 years. McClelland and Stewart Publishers took note of her work and she began writing for their Canadian School Readers series where she had stories published as early as 1948. These school readers were used in schools for three decades. She also published Arrivals and Departures; American School Readers (Allyn & Bacon Inc., 1957). Arrivals and Departures: American School Readers (Allyn & Bacon Inc., 1957). She is perhaps best remembered by the public work her stories about families, farm life, and New Brunswick handcrafts which appeared in numerous national publications as well as H. Gordon Green’s book Canadian Handcrafts. Sources: Who’s Who in the Media Club of Canada. 1991. (s.l.; 1991) ; Vera Ayling Collections , New Brunswick Archives provided by Reference services, New Brunswick Archives September 2014.

SEE - Authors

Born December 29, 1967, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. Her first job was as a reporter in Kenora, Ontario. From 1989 through 1992 she worked on the evening news in Edmonton, Alberta.  While in Calgary she was awarded two IRIS Awards. She moved to work in the U.S.A. and earned an Emmy as Best News Anchor when she worked in Dallas at KDFW TV. She also won the Texas Associated Press Award for best series “To Serve and Survive”. She is remembered for her live reporting for 8 days straight after 9/11. She married June 29, 2002 to Harold Gould and the couple have two sons.

Born Southern Ireland. Mary credits her time at boarding school with teaching her to be independent and also proving her with a high standard of conduct. She attended the National University of Ireland and then studied in France. Mary cultivated her writing shills as a teen when articles were published in the London Daily Express newspaper. She married James Baker of Sydney, Australia, in 1942. The couple lived in various locations while becoming parents to four children. In 1954 they moved to Canada where Mary shortly after became a widow. She kept her family together by holding various jobs including buying and selling antiques. In 1964 and 1967 her writings won her the Senator Cairine Wilson Citizenship Trophy when she wrote of her home in Prince Edward Island. She was also editor of the Women’s Institute News from 1959-1963. In 1980 she had a weekly TV antiques show in PEI. Source: Outstanding women of Prince Edward Island Compiled by the Zonta Club of Charlottetown, 1981.

née Brown. Born May 28, 1914, Yellowgrass, Saskatchewan. Died November 9, 1988, Edmonton, Alberta. In 1935 Laura married Benjamin 'Ben' T. Banks (1912 -1996) and the couple had one son. Laura began a successful TV broadcasting career under the stage name of Laura Lindsay at C F R N TV in Edmonton. From 1955 though 1968 she had her own show on homemaking which ran five days a week. The show was live and unrehearsed and after the show she washed the dishes and cleaned up the set by herself! In 1964 she published a book, Laura’s Recipes that sold 30,000 copies.  .The City of Edmonton boasts of a street, Lindsay Crescent, named in her honour. Source: Naming Edmonton, Online. (accessed 2025); Find a Grave, Online (accessed 2025)

Born September 26, 1904, Ottawa, Ontario. Died November 24, 1965, Montreal, Quebec. In 1929 Marcelle founded a dramatic society called La Rampe in Ottawa where she preformed for almost 10 years. In 1933 she began working at radio C K C H in Hull, across the river from Ottawa. Here she had a weekly programme Pour Vous Mesdames using the pseudonym 'Francoise'. She was the 1st bilingual woman hired by this radio station. Prior to World War 11 she travelled to Europe to study other national radio stations. There is a park in Montreal named in her honour and a street in Gatineau, Quebec also has been named in her honour. By 1938 she became the 1st bilingual female hired by the CBC Radio. She covered the Royal visit of the King and Queen in 1939 and a second royal visit in 1951 of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.  Source: 1938 - Marcelle Barthe ...Ligne du temps de l'histoire des femmes au Québec, Réeseau Québécois en études femministes, Online, (accessed 2025) Find a Grave, Online (accessed 2025)

Born August 3, 1864, Montreal, Quebec. Died April 7, 1955, Ottawa, Ontario. Lily graduated from McGill University, Montreal. She also took a three-year course at the Ottawa Art School before traveling in Europe. Lily was primarily a journalist who also published short stories and verses in various newspapers and periodicals.  For a short time she worked in New York City, U.S.A. but returned to Canada in 1896 working as an editor with the Montreal Star until 1909. She edited the Woman's, Young People's, and Children's pages under the pen name 'Primrose' for the Family Herald and weekly.  As 'The Hostess' she wrote the correspondence column.  In 1900 she was a special correspondent for The Star  at the Paris, France, Exposition. In 1901 She published In Paths of Peace.  In 1909 she assisted with the anti-tuberculosis campaign for the Royal Edward Institute.  She went on to work with the Montreal Red Cross during World War l (1914-1918) and then with the Catholic Social Service Guild.  In 1916 she enrolled at Loyola College, Montreal, studying sociology where, after graduation, she lectured.  She was a member of the Canadian Women's Press Club (C W P C) from 1930 until 1945 while working as the literary editor for the Montreal Gazette newspaper. She was also an active member of the Canadian Authors Association, The Woman's Canadian Club, and the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E). She was also an accomplished visual artist exhibiting her sculptures and paintings with the Art Association of Canada winning prizes for her model clay works in Montreal. In 1940 she won a Quebec Music Festival Prize for the best sonnet. Source: Earlt Canadian Women Writers, Online  (accessed 2024)

Born February 26, 1863, L’isle-Verte, Lower Canada. Died January 7, 1910, Montreal,  Quebec. A well known personality in Montreal society Robertine was a pioneer feminist lecturer and writer. She is considered the first woman journalist in French Canada. She joined the staff of the weekly newspaper La Patrie in 1891. Her column was written for almost then years under the nom de plume of 'Francoise'. She would go on in her career to found Le Journal d Francoise, published from 1902-1909. She also would publish books of her short stories. In 1900 she was one of the Canadian government representatives to the famous Paris International Exhibition in France. In 1904 the government of France named her as an “Officer de l’Acaémie” She was part of the group of Canadian women Journalists who were sponsored to go to the St Louis World's Fair in 1904 and during the trip they established the Canadian Women's Press Club, with herself being elected at vice president. Source: Women in Canadian Literature, National Library of Canada, (accessed 1997) Online; D C B; Sweet Sixteen: The Journey that Inspired the Canadian Womens Press Club by Linda Kay, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2012.

née Hogg. Born September 14, 1879, Guelph, Ontario. Died May 17, 1963, Edmonton, Alberta. Gertrude attended Loretto Academy in Hamilton, Ontario and went on to study at the Brantford Ladies, College in Ontario.  Gertrude married Arthur Balmer Watt (1876-1964) in 1900. The couple had three Children. She began her journalism career with the Woodstock Sentinel-Review where she used the byline “Peggy”. The young couple moved to Alberta in 1905. Arthur was a newspaper editor who worked with various Edmonton newspapers including the Edmonton Journal. Gertrude operated three periodicals in Alberta: Edmonton's Saturday News, the Albertan Homestead, and The Capital. They were stanch supporters of women’s rights and her articles on life of western women were published in various Canadian newspapers including the Globe and Mail in Toronto. She wrote to provide a view different from the traditional male historians.  In 1904 she was among a group of 16 lady journalists who were sponsored by the Canadian Pacific Railway to travel and cover the St Louis World's Fair. It was during this train trip that the Canadian Women's Press Club (C W P C) (now Media Club of Canada) was founded. After the St Louis World’s Fair she would establish the Edmonton Chapter of the C W P C (now Media Club of Canada) and along with her continued newspaper columns would write several books on women and life in the Canadian west. In 1011 she earned the Earl Grey Trophy for amateur actors. Later in life she enjoyed being an well respected antique dealer and collector. Source: Early Canadian Women Writers, Online; Sweet Sixteen: The Journey that Inspired the Canadian Womens Press Club by Linda Kay, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2012.

née Macdonald. Born August 23, 1939, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Isabel earned her Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and went on to earn a Master's degree from York University, Toronto, Ontario, in 1973. Earning her Teacher's Diploma she taught French and English at Humberside Collegiate Institute, Toronto, Ontario. In the 1960's she became a journalist for the Toronto Telegram and later joined C T V as a reporter and documentary producer. She married John Bassett (1915-1998) on July 17, 1967. In 1993 she ran unsuccessfully for the House of Commons. In 1995 she was elected in the Ontario Provincial election. In 1997 she was appointed Ontario Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation. She did not win in the 1999 Ontario Provincial election and from 1999 through 2005 she was the chair and CEO of TVOntario, Ontario's provincial public television network. There was some controversy with Isabel working at T V O as she was in a common law relationship with Ernie Eves then Premier of Ontario. In 2016 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario  and in June of that year she became a Member of the Order of Canada.

née Tarbox. Born December 23, 1870, Hamilton, Ontario. Died May 30, 1942, New York City, New York, U.S.A. At 18 Jessie left Canada to teach in Williamsburg, Massacheutts, U.S.A. where she settled for ten years. in 1897 she married Alfred Beals and in 1902  the couple worked as itinerate photographers with Jessie taking the photographs and Alfred processing the photos in the dark room. When some of her photographs were published in a Vermont newspaper she earned the title as first woman photo journalist in North America. She is perhaps best known for her work at the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis, Missouri and as the official photographer of Greenwich Village in New York City. The couple settled in New York City in 1905. By 1917 they were divorces but Jessie carried on with her profession and bringing up their daughter. She took photographs of the homes and gardens of the wealthy which were published in garden magazines. She struggled during the Great Depression and died in poverty. Source: Art Institute;  Key Photographers, Photography in Canada 1839-1989, An Illustrated Hisoty by Sarah Bassnett and Sarah Parsons, Online (accessed 2025)

Born 1910, Minto Township, Wellington County, Ontario. Died 1993. As a young lady, Florence  she took a secretarial course in Toronto, Ontario. She married Clarence Diamond and later married Ellworth Bean. From 1977 to 1980 she was president of the Ontario Federated Women’s Institutes. She too leadership roles in conference of the Associated Country Women of the World. Florence was an active member of the Waterloo Farm and Home Safety Council, the Wilmot Agricultural Society, the Wilmot Horticultural Society, and the Waterloo Historical Society. She was the Haysville correspondent for the Kitchener - Waterloo Record for 30 years and had a radio career with C F R B in Toronto. In 1990 she was the Wilmot Citizen of the year. She was also presented with a Queen’s Jubilee Medal. Source: Waterloo Regional Hall of Fame. Online (accessed July 2014) (2022)

Born Regina, Saskatchewan. After high school she earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba. She added to her schooling in Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University), Toronto, Ontario, where she received the silver medal as outstanding female graduate. She began her career as a journalist and was the C B C’s 1st female announcer for radio and television, the 1st Saskatchewan producer of musical variety on C B C Television, Canada’s 1st female jazz disc jockey, and a actress in the first live drama on Saskatchewan’s C K C K television. Off the job she became the first certified baton-twirling judge in western Canada, and coordinated the first musical theater program at the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts. She is the founder of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Cheerleaders Squad in 1960 and remained as director though to 1977. As part of Canada’s 1967 Centennial Carol initiated the Saskatchewan Express, a touring show with Saskatchewan performers. This program would hatch the Saskatchewan Talent Program in the performing arts. She and her husband, Vern, worked full time with the troupe to Celebrate Saskatchewan’s 75th Anniversary as a province. She has been recognized for her efforts in 1985 as the YWCA Woman of the Year, professional category. In 1986 she won the Larry Schneider Communications and Leadership Award a, in 1997 she received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, and in October 2008 she was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. Source: City of Regina. History. Online. (accessed January 2012.) ; Order of Canada Online (accessed January 2012)

Miss Lou

Black Broadcaster

Born September 7, 1919, Kingston, Jamaica. Died July 26, 2006, Toronto, Ontario. Louise was one of the first Black women broadcasters in the 1940’s. While still as student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England, she hosted a radio show called Caribbean Carnival. After she emigrated to Toronto she used her knowledge of her culture, the stories and songs, sa a basis for her radio shows which included ‘Laugh with Louise’, ‘Miss Lou’s Views’ and  educated Jamaican immigrant children with her TV show ‘Ring Ding’. She married Eric ’Chalktalk’ Coverley and they had a son and many ‘adopted’ children. Miss Lou as she was known, had been made a member of the Order of the British Empire and had received an honorary doctorate from York University, Toronto and another from the University of the West Indies. She died the night she was to be presented with the 2006 Jamaica Independence Award Hall of Fame from the West Indian American Association of New Jersey. Louise is buried in Kingston, Jamaica. Source: Miss Lou, 86: Bedrock of Canadian culture by Philip Mascoll, The Toronto Starr, August 1, 2006. (2022)

Born November 27, 1900, Saint-Fabien-de-Rimouski, Quebec. Died December 4, 1981, Longueuil, Quebec. Like may young women of her era Marie-Angele went to Normal School (teachers' College) and then taught in the Gaspé region before relocating to Quebec City. In 1923 she began her career as a journalist. She wrote for L'Evénement, Quebec City, La Tribune, Sherbrooke and L'Illustration, Montreal. Turing to work for radio in 1932 she worked at radio station C K A C, Montreal. From 1939 for almost 20 years she hosted the radio show Quelles nouvelles. From 1963 to 1965 she wrote scripts for the soap opera Rue de L'Anse. Jovette also was known for her poetry with five collections of her works published between 1924 and 1945. Her first novel La chair décevante in 1931 was considered somewhat scandalous. In 1969 she penned Non Monsieur which earned the Prix du Cercle du livre de France. Rue Jovette-Bernier in Sherbrooke in named in her honour as is a street in Quebec City. The Prix Jovette-Bernier, an annual literary award, was created in her honour. Source: Prix Jovette Bernier, Online (accessed 2022)

Born February 6, 1920, St Boniface, Manitoba. Died  May 11, 2017, Winnipeg, Manitoba. After graduating from St. Joseph's Academy in Winnipeg, Madeleine began working for the Canadian Department of National Revenue. She became a journalist and worked as an assistant editor of the Women's Page of the Winnipeg Free Press. Back then journalism was a male dominated profession and she had to earn respect as a journalist. She switched papers to work as music critic for The Winnipeg Tribune for 15 years. She also wrote radio dramas for the French Radio-Canada. She became the first woman to serve as a board member of the Winnipeg Press Club after women journalists demanded they be let into the Press Club. She was also an active volunteer member of her Catholic church and worked at Winnipeg's Agape Table. She lived in a Catholic Parish that was made made up of Italian immigrants and she learned Italian to join  to sing with her neighbours. She would al  work on the committee of the Manitoba Centennial Corporation. Source: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2024); Obituary, C B C online (accessed 2024)

Born May 26, 1884, Streetsville, Ontario. Died October 5, 1951, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1879 her family relocated to farm in Manitoba. She earned her teacher's certificate and taught near Carman, Manitoba. In 1909 she and her sister, Lilian Beynon Thomas (1871-1961), moved to Winnipeg where she worked for the T. Eaton Company. From 1912 for five years she was the editor of the women's page of the Grain Growers Guide, an influential Prairie magazine. Using the pen name 'Dixie Patton' she also wrote for the children's pages.  A journalist, feminist, and social reformer, she was a determined individual who wrote of votes for women, marriage and family structure. She was a pacifist and resigned her position at the Grain Growers Guide over views on World War I. She and her sister helped to found the Quill Club and the Winnipeg Branch of the Canadian Womens Press Club that had been founded in 1904. She stood up for women's suffrage and was one of the organizers of the Manitoba Political Equality League. Marion felt that women should stand on their own feet and that both husband and wife should share responsibility for success. In 1917 she moved to New York City, U.S.A. In 1919 she published a semi-autobiographical novel, Aleta Day. In New York she and her sister worked at the Seamen's Church Institute, an Episcopalian Mission for sailors. 1922-1925 she was the editor of the mission's publication The Lookout. She used the pen name Ginty Beynon over the next 25 years writing as a freelance journalist. She returned to Canada in 1951 just shortly before her death. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia, Online (accessed 2016)

National Historic Person

née Miles  Born 1820, Rhode Island, U.S.A. Died 1877, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. . Mary was born a free Black Quaker and was privileged to be educated , graduating from Normal School (Teacher’s College) in Lexington, Massachusetts. She was one of the first Black women teachers in North America. In 1847 she met her future husband Henry Bibb ( d. 1854) who was an escaped slave, at an anti-slave rally in New York City. The couple were wed a year latter and settled in Boston. In 1850 the couple fled to Canada after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law which could have caused Henry to be re-enslaved. Settling in Sandwich, Canada West (now known as Windsor, Ontario) the couple played a key role in the famous Underground Railroad that helped escaped slaves settle in Canada. The co-published the newspaper The Fugitive Voice beginning in 1851. Mary is credited with being the first Black woman journalist in Canada. Later her sister-in-law Mary Shadd Cary would become the first Black woman publisher of a newspaper. Mary Bibb also operated a dress making business and taught both adult Black and their children in a class in her own home. She fought for Black schooling in the area for several years. After Henry’s death she carried on until 1871 when she returned to the USA. She and Henry were declared Persons of National Historic Significance by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in 2002. Sources: Section15.ca ; Merna Forster 100 more Canadian Heroines; Famous and Forgotten Faces (Toronto; Dundurn Press, 2011. )

Born March 27, 1942, Winnipeg, Manitoba. . Died March  23, 2009, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Arlene lived in New York City for a short time and had good memories of working on the political campaign of John F. Kennedy. Returning to Canada, she earned her degree in economics and political Science at the University of Manitoba. She joined the staff of the Winnipeg Free Press in 1964, working in the women’s section. She left the newspaper when complaints of inequality of pay with male reporters were ignored. She travelled in Europe a few months only to return to a job at the newspaper which met her demands.  From  1970 through 1994  she was the well respected legislative reporter, writing the column Under the Dome.  She was also known as a supporter and mentor for young reporters. She enjoyed being a participant , even after her retirement, in the “Beer and Skits” political satire productions at the Winnipeg Press Club. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. Sources: Lives Lived, Globe and Mail July 20, 2009: Memorable Manitobans, Online (accessed December 2011)

Born April 25, 1871, Dorset, England. Died  April 22, 1947, London, England. A journalist, perhaps in search of a story, she decided to  came to visit her brother’s farm in Saskatchewan and fell in love with the area. She also felt that she would be a better farmer than her brother. In 1905 she purchased land in the Qu’Appelle Valley in Southern Saskatchewan. As a woman she was not eligible to apply for or receive the free land offered in Western Canada. She sold her grain in the open market and was a critic of privately controlled grain-marketing systems.  She would go to Ottawa in 1908 and protest for equality for women farmers. It was not until 1930 when the federal government handed land control over to the prairie provinces would single women farmers get their demands. Meanwhile in 1910,  Georgina opened her farm to train other single women wishing to learn farming. She also continued her writings and left behind a rich detailed account of social life and daily farm life in the settlement of the Canadian prairies. During World War l, the British Government appointed Georgina and 6others to train women to work the land. Her own personal war effort was a children’s book from which proceeds were used to help wounded solders and their horses. She began ladies dress making business in London to stabilize her finances while still managing her Canadian Farm. Her ashes were spread on her lands in Saskatchewan. Source: 100 more Canadian Heroines by Merna Forster (Dundurn 2011)

Born October 9, 1944, London, Ontario. Died August 15, 1992. In 1975 she became the controlling shareholder of the Blackburn Group Inc. In 1984 she became chair and president and was responsible  radio stations. London Free Press Printing Company, Netmar Inc., Blackburn Marketing Services and Blackburn Holdings Ltd.  Her father had established the Walter J. Blackburn Foundation and Martha was a founding member. The Fondation provided grants to charitable organizations in health, education, welfare, the environment and the arts.  Martha would serve on numerous boards including Canadin Press, the Ontario Press Council and the Michener Awards Foundation.  In 1993 she was inducted into the Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Source: Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame online (accessed 2024)

SEE - Authors

Born May 20, 1951, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Died February 12, 2020, Toronto, Ontario. While she was still in high school the family relocated to Toronto in 1970. After secondary school she attended Ryerson University where as a student she worked for the university paper The Ryersonian and also worked part time at the Globe and Mail newspaper.  In 1975 Christie started her journalism career working as Canada's first female sports Columnist at the Globe and Mail newspaper. In 1977 through 1982 she switched to working as a feature writer for the Toronto Star. In 1982 she began a column with The Sun newspaper in Toronto, which wrote for 16 years. She published two collections of her humour-oriented columns from The Sun in the late 1980's. In the 1990's she was again writing feature articles many covered criminal trials. In 1998 she began writing for the new player in town, The National Post. In 1999 she earned the National Newspaper Award for her column work. By 2003 she was back with the Globe and Mail doing a column as well as feature articles. In 2008 her book Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army won the 2008 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction writing.  She continued to pen books, Helpless: Caledonia's Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed of of Us, which concerned the Grand River land dispute. In all she published four full length books. She was a welcome guest on radio C F R B and returned to the National Post in 2011. In 2019 she was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. Source: Obituaries

SEE - Authors

Born January 18, 1941, Montreal, Quebec. Died July 4, 2023, Montreal, Quebec. Denise attended the Université de Montréal earning a Master's Degree in political science in 1971. In 1970 she had left her husband and in 1973 married Claude Sylvestre and the couple had one son. She went on to earn her Doctorate (PhD) in sociology in 1974 from the Sorbonne in France. e She worked as a research assistant for the Radio Canada television program Aujourd'hui. In 1975 she began to host television programs such as Présent international, and Hebdo-dimanche. She also hosted  Noir sur blanc which was the public affairs program to be hosted by a woman in Quebec. In 1985 she and her husband were separated for a short time before reconnecting and then became divorce. By 1987 she was host of Trait-d'union and also participated on L'envers de la médaille. In 1993 she was inducted as a Knight or the French Legion of Honour. In 1999 she hosed and was a producer of the radio science program Les Années lumières. As a print journalist her articles were often controversial and were published in Le Monde, Le Devoir, L'Express de Toronto, Châtelaine, Le Point and L'Actualité. She also wrote several books from 1975 through 2009. In 2000 she became a Knight in the National Order of Quebec. In 2003 she was fired via e-mail from the public television network Radio Canada for engaging in debate on same-sex marriage with the spokesperson for Quebec Gay Archives. In 2007 she wrote the song La diva for singer Céline Dion and would later publish a book: L'énigmatique Céline Dion. She married for a third time to James 'Jim' Jackson a professor of French literature from Dublin, Ireland. In 2015 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2o19 she wrote a column The Decline of Whites noting the demographic switch with whites becoming the minority and suggested that by 2050 whites would be a minority in several countries. Source: Obituary , Popular Quebec TV Host Denise Bombardier spoke out against immigration and gay marriage by Alan Freeman, Globe and Mail July 6, 2023.

née Springer. Born April 29, 1875, Moodyville, British Columbia. Died February 2, 1953, Vancouver, British Columbia. She was the first white child born on Burrard Inlet. After her marriage dissolved she ran a school with her sister, Eva in the 1890’s. She next took up journalist, a career she embraced for 30 years. She wrote for the women’s pages of the Vancouver Sun newspaper. During the 1930 and 1940’s the apartment of Mabel and Eva was renowned among the social elite. Source:  Who's Who (accessed June 2009)

Born 1952, Toronto, Ontario. She studied at the University of Guelph which is a little ironic. Guelph is known more as an agricultural school than for the arts and she lives on a sheep farm and is listed in the Canadian Who’s Who as a shepherd and an author. A successful journalist she combined her love of history and humour in her works. She won the Leacock Award for humorous writing in 1996. She has done regular columns in Maclean’s Magazine, and written CBC productions. She writes anecdotal Canadian history books which began with Just a Minute: Glimpses of Our Great Canadian Heritage (Toronto : McArthur & Co., 1994) In 1998 she was the YWCA Woman of Distinction.

née Marmette. Born March 29, 1870, Quebec City, Quebec. Died May 2, 1928, Montreal, Quebec. Marie Louise was the only child to survive in her family and she was the granddaughter of historian Francoise-Xavier Garneau. She studies with the Ursulines of Quebec and then at the Congregation of Notre-Dame, Ottawa. She also studied in Paris, France when she accompanied her father on business. She married Donat Brodeur (died 1920) on July 6, 1892 in Ottawa and the couple had eight children. As a writer Marie Louise used the pen name Louyse de Bienville. Between 1902 and 1909 she wrote for the Journal de Françoise which had been founded by Robertine Barry (1863-1910). She also contributed to such publications as Pour vous medames, La Bonne Parole, and Revue moderne. She was interested in feminism, current affairs, the Great War (1914-1918) , especially the contribution of the women of France. After her death her daughter Marguerite collected some of her writings and published them in the book, Figures et paysages, in 1931. Source: D C B (2024)

SEE - Authors

SEE - Authors

Born October 28, 1874, Cantley, Quebec. Died May 4,1948, Kirk's Ferry, Quebec. Ada was a prize-winning student when she attended the one room school in Cantley. At the age of 14 she became the valley correspondent for the Ottawa Evening Telegram newspaper between 1895 and 1907.  She wrote about the climate, the soils of Quebec, the seasons and the types of crops and animals on local farms. Her efforts garnered her $30.00 a year, a subscription to the paper, and  a pad of yellow paper on which to write her reports. In 1905 she married Charles Howard Reid (1878-1958) and the couple settled in Kirk's Ferry where the couple raised their five children. Source: Notable Women of Gatineau Valley & the Outaouais online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)

Born April 18, 1909, Plum Coulee, Manitoba. Died August 30, 2005, New York City, U.S.A. Cecily graduated from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. She relocated to New York City, U.S.A. to continue her studies and to find work. She would eventually settle in Greenwich Village. She became Food Editor for the well known magazine Parents and the Child Care editor for Family Circle magazine. From 1947 though 1986 she published five recipe columns and two food features for the non-profit news agency, Associated Press, with her columns appearing in publications throughout the United States and a number of other countries. In 1972 she published Cecily Brownstone's Associated Press Cookbook. Outside of journalism she was a consultant to the president of Cuisinart  company and with him she edited the magazine Pleasures of Cooking. They also wrote the cookbook: Classic Cakes and other Great Cuisinart Desserts in 1994. She also published a book for children called All Kinds of Mothers which she had illustrated by her niece Miriam Brofsky Kley. (2022)

Born March 10, 1935, St. Adéle, Quebec. Died April 2, 2006. After high school Suzy attended business college in St. Jerome, Quebec. In 1950 St. Jerome radio hired her and by 20 she was writing newspaper columns as well as hosting two radio shows along with handling public relations for the radio stations. She began taking public relations and marketing course at McGill University, Montreal. She travelled internationally to cover newsworthy event.. She tried taking modeling classes and moved to New York City, U.S.A. to appear in television commercials. By the 1960’s she had purchased an old lodge in the Laurentian Mountains and turned it into an art gallery. She met and married a radio station owner, Gordon Burnett, and the couple settled in St. Catherines, Ontario. Once their daughter was in school, Suzy became involved with the production of a French language radio show which she produced in her own home studio. The Ontario Ministry of Culture picked up the show for stations across the province. She became the French culture expert for the C B C production of Morningside. By 1980 she used her avocation for art to raise awareness of First Nation’s issues with her new company Kakekalanicks Inc. She served as a Board member for TV Ontario, the educational public television. 1987 Rochon-Burnett was presented with an eagle feather in recognition of her efforts to save a totem pole carved by Squamish carver Chief Mathias Joe and in 2001 she received a Meritorious Service Award in recognition of her contributions to Native Friendship Centres in Ontario. In 1995 she purchased a country music radio station in Welland, Ontario becoming the first indigenous person in Canada to own a private commercial radio station. She has received an Eagle Feather, Canada’s highest First Nations honour, A Woman of Distinction Award, the Governor’s General Confederacy Medal, the Order of Ontario. She is the first woman inducted into the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business Hall of fame. Source: Great women from our First Nations by Kelly Fournel (Second Story Press, 2007)

Born 1920, Newmarket, Ontario. Died April 16, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba. After marriage Helen raised four Children. In 1965 she began working as a civil servant with the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in public relations and as an editor with the magazine North. In 1970 the family relocated to Winnipeg where she worked as an assistant editor of the Hudson's Bay Company Publication The Beaver ( Now Canada's History). She was promoted to editor in 1972 and served in that position until 1985. In 1977 she and archivist of the H B C, Shirlee Anne Smith (1929-2008) established the publishing firm of Watson & Dwyer using their Mothers' maiden names. They specialized in western Canadian books and books about the history of the fur trade in Canada. Source: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2022)

Born October 3, 1920, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. Died September 30, 2014, Knowlton, Quebec. Angela's parents left their hometown of Timmins, Ontario and relocated to Buffalo, New York just prior to her birth leaving Angela with a dual citizenship. Angela was called 'Bunny' by her friends and family. In 1938 she and her sister spent a year in France and touring Europe where their Franco-Canadian French helped her feel comfortable. Angela graduated from McGill University, Montreal. During World War ll she gave up her U. S. citizenship to work for the British Embassy in Washington D. C., U.S.A. After the war, she returned to Canada and began her newspaper career at the Timmins Daily Press. In 1946 she took journalism courses at Columbia University in New York City.  She became the first female reporter on the city beat for the Toronto Star newspaper in 1951 and she would become by 1955 known as 'the globe trotting girl reporter' with her overseas reporting. In 1956 she was on he way to New York City in the U S where she set sail for the spring fairytale royal wedding of grace Kelly and Prince Reiner of Monaco. In 1957 she was reporting on Elvis in concert describing Elvis as 'dangerously charming'. She also interviewed crooner Frank Sinatra and said 'he was electric'. Her most unforgettable interview was with Helen Keller when the questions were tapped on her hand by her companion. In 1960 she was working with the C B C on a show in Ottawa. By Centennial year in 1967 she was working as public relations director at the Centennial Commission. She also covered the Royal Commission on the Status of Women.  In 1972 she married Richard Kerrigan who she had first met during her days as a student. In retirement she had wanted to write a collection of her memoirs describing her adventures in reporting. After the death of her sister in 1977 she became guardian for her two nieces. Source: Female Reporter made history in her industry by Fred Langan The Globe and Mail October 31, 2014. online (accessed 2024).

née Naim. Born March 26, 1929, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. Died July 21, 2014, Edmonton, Alberta. When her parents separated Ginger grew up in Greenfield, Nova Scotia, with her mother’s family before settling in Ottawa. As a student at the University of Toronto (U of T) she wrote for the school’s Communist newspaper. Dropping out of school she followed Ted Byfield to Timmins, Ontario, and worked at the Times Press. The newspaper would only hire her if she was married so she and Ted married. Relocating to Ottawa she worked at the Ottawa Journal On the move again the couple relocated to Alberta where she worked on the Alberta Report Magazine and the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper. In Selkirk, Manitoba the couple founded the Company of the Cross, a lay order of the Anglican Church of Canada. They opened in 1957 the St John’s Boys School. In 1968 she worked on a newsletter, St John’s Edmonton Report. The couple trained numerous young journalists and their home was often a bunkhouse for their students. Their final joint project was the editing of a 12 volume History of Christianity. Source: Peter Shawn Taylor, Formidable Editor Left and Indelible Mark , Toronto Globe and Mail August 2, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario

Born 1923. Died January 8, 2014, Oakville, Ontario. Jean worked at the beginning of her career as an actor on commercials and in dramatic roles in the Toronto-Hamilton area and then on the Hamilton radio station C K O C as a writer and women's Editor. She married Howard Caine and the couple funded Oakville radio station C H W O in November 1956. As the community grew so did the number of radio stations the she ownwd. When she became a widow in 1967 she became president and manager of C HW O and soon trained her son Michael in the business known as the Golden Horseshoe Radio Network. The various stations provide Christian-based programming and multi language radio serving the diverse ethnic community of Greater Toronto. The company was sold in 2008.She was active in her home community receiving the Ability Fund Award from the Rehabilitation Council for the Disabled. She also received the Central Canada Broadcasters Association Howard Caine Memorial Award in 1978. In 1987 she was Oakville's Business Person of the Year. In 1995 she was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame. The Jean and Howard Caine Apartments  open by the March of Dimes' Non-Profit Housing Corporation, houses some 40 people with physical challenges.  Source: CAB Broadcasters Hall of Fame online (accessed 2024); obituary online (accessed 2024). 

SEE - Social Activists.

Born December 20, 1863, Victoria, British Columbia. Died May 13, 1912, Victoria, British Columbia. At 16 Agnes, Like so many women of her era, was teaching at public schools in British Columbia. She also taught at a girl's school and then boy's school and by 1890 she became the 1st woman high school teacher in British Columbia. Moving on she became in 1894 the 1st woman to hold an administrative office in a co-educational school in Victoria. She became the co-founder the British Columbia Teacher's Institute where she was often speaking on such topics as equality for women. During this time she began a career in journalism writing for Victoria's newspapers. She went on to author article in various periodicals and in 1902 she became an associate editor for the Educational Journal of eastern Canada. In 1906 she served as president of the Dominion Educational Association. She was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the local the Local Council of Women, and the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association. Agnes work at schools was not all smooth sailing. She was, in 1890, charged with inappropriate discipline of a student, in 1901 she was accused of insubordination, and in 1905 the was charged with other teachers for allowing students to cheat. The last charge ended with her losing teaching license for three years. Agnes joined the Canadian Women's Pres Club and turned to writing full time. In 1908 she and a niece, Jessie Cameron Brown were the 1st white women  traveled  overland to the Arctic Ocean. They published their exploits in The New North in 1910.She would also travel to England an promote immigration for the Canadian government. 

Born March 26, 1930, Toronto, Ontario . Died November 3, 2011, Toronto, Ontario.  Joyce had no love of formal schooling and dropped out of high school to work at various jobs. She found her niche when she began reporting for the Kitchener-Waterloo Record newspaper. In her twenties she met fellow writer Clayton Derstine. The couple would marry with the birth of their only child in 1965. In the early 1960’s the couple made the move to Toronto after she had won the Judy Award for promoting Canadian Fashion. She wrote for the Globe and Mail and included interesting highlights of what workings behind the fashion world. Her first national byline appeared in the Globe and Mail November 14, 1962. In 1981 she was named Woman of the Year by Fashion Canada. Her work allowed her to jet off to world fashion capitals but her pay was not large for the results provided. A succinct reporter she came to the point directly. She did not write after her retirement. Source: Fashion writer had a healthy perspective…by Susan Ferrier Mackay, Globe and Mail January 10 2012. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.

née  Wilson. Born February 27, 1873, Durham, Ontario. Died May 15, 1954, Toronto, Ontario. Annie's parents died of tuberculosis in 1899 when she was just 16 years old. At that time she left school to take care of her younger family members. Annie herself would marry, first to Jack Butcher (1870-1915) and secondly to Nathanial Franklin Caswell (1858?-1945). Her second husband was a publisher and a printer. While she herself did not have any children, she however, had a deep interest in child welfare and served on the boards of the Toronto Day Nursery and the East Eng Day Nursery. She was also a Director with the youth organization Canadian Girls in Training (C G I T). She earned her way in life as a journalist writing for The Globe, the News, the Mail and Empire, and The Telegram, all newspapers in Toronto. By 1930 she had published a novel, Susann of Sandy Point. She was a member of the Canadian Women's Press Club and served a time as president of the Toronto Branch. Source: ECWW online (accessed 2022)

née Taylor. Born January 15, 1927, Montreal, Quebec. Died September 9, 2017, Montreal, Quebec. Gretta learned at an early age from her family about family commitment and community service. While still in her midteens she studied Political Science at McGill University, Montreal graduating in 1947. In January 1951 she married Edgar Chambers and the couple had five children. She became a political wife in 1958 when her husband was elected to the Quebec provincial legislature. She worked at this time as a translator and researcher and later worked as a front-line journalist, public-affairs analyst and a broadcast commentator. From 1964 thought 1978 she had a weekly radio programme called the Province in Print. From 1977-1980 she hosted a weekly CTV program called The Editors. It was in 1977 that she began her 25 years as a columnist for The Gazette newspaper. A convince federalist she was a major spokesperson for the English community at a time when separation was a hot topic. She served on numerous boards and committees including in 1978 to 1988 sitting on the McGill Board of Governors. In 1991 she was invested as the 1st woman chancellor of McGill University. She was an Officer of the Order National du Quebec in 1993 and in 2000 she was promoted to a Companion of the Order of Canada. Source: History, McGill University, online  (accessed 2022)

Born February 25, 1888, Campbellville, Ontario. Died August 28, 1976, Toronto, Ontario. In 1905 Ethel attended the Milton Model School after completing her high school. In 1909/10 she attended Normal School in Hamilton, Ontario to earn her teacher’s certificate. In 1912 she earned her Domestic Sciences Teacher’s Certificate from Macdonald Institute, Guelph, Ontario. After graduating she worked at the Women’s Institute Branch of the Ontario Department of Agriculture from 1927- 1952. She was a contributor and editor for the publication Food for the Family and editor of the ‘Home’ section of Farmer’s Magazine. In 1952 she became editor of Home and Country magazine for the Ontario Women’s Institute. She also wrote novels, short stories and essays. In 1974 she received the Ontario Agriculture Centennial Medal. In 1980 she was inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame. Source: Obituary, Toronto Star, August 30, 1976 Page A 6

Born 1955. Died December 10, 2013, Ottawa, Ontario. Leigh Anne began working in news broadcasting in Pembroke, Ontario. The town is situated in the Ottawa valley and she was soon noticed by one of the workers at CTV in Ottawa. She began working as secretary to Max Keeping, a well known broadcaster at CJOH television, with the understanding that when a job in broadcasting opened up she would apply. She worked on the television program Regional Contact, providing stories from the Ottawa Valley that would be on interest to her Ottawa viewers. Then she became anchor for the late night news on CTV Ottawa. She worked at this job with true dedication for three decades becoming a familiar and welcome face to her viewers. She was also known for being the master of ceremonies, host or a guest auctioneer at local charities throughout the Valley. She helped the next generation come into the profession when she taught at Algonquin College. She was honest and forthright about such things as her struggle with weight but his showed that broadcasters need not all be slim like a career model.  Leigh Anne retired after 36 years on Ottawa television On May 4, 2012. Source: Obituary Ottawa Citizen, December 14, 2013. Suggestion submitted by Leah Monroe, Timmins, Ontario

Born January 15, 1916, Birmingham, England. Died October 30, 2010, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  As a child Margot immigrated to Manitoba with her family, and settled in the Sturgeon Creek area of St. James. On  October 24, 1936, she married Thomas P. Chester (1904-2002). After the birth of their three children, she began writing professionally in the mid-1950s. Her career in journalism began as the Charleswood correspondent for the St. James Leader. By 1965, she was Editor of the St. James Assiniboia News. She was later Editor-In-Chief of several weekly community newspapers, including Metro One, The Lance, The Herald, The Times and Thompson Times. As a volunteer  she was also a founding member of the Charleswood Historical Society and the Charleswood Sketch Club. She was a member of the St. James Chamber of Commerce, The St. James Business and Professional Women’s Association, and other local and political organizations. In 1997, she wrote a book on the history of St. Mary’s Anglican Church in celebration of its 75th anniversary. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 6 November 2010 : Memorable Manitobans Online (accessed November 2012)

Born 1915, Shawinigan, Quebec.  Died 1973, Quebec City, Quebec. From 1924 through to 1931 Adrienne studied with the Ursuline  Sisters in Trois Riviéres, Quebec.  Her first job was working as a civil servant with the provincial government  but soon found herself writing for various newspapers and periodicals. She write for Le Bien Public, Le Nouvelliste, le Samdi, La Revue populaire, Le Jour, Amérique française, Le Devoir and Les Cahiers de l'Acadeemie canadienne-française.  She also worked on C H L N Radio in Trois Riviéres from 1937 through 1948. From 1948 thoght to 1970 she worked as t first as co-editor and then editor of Terre de Foyer, with the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture. In 1939 she published her first book, Confidences d'écriviains canadiens-français. Her first novel appeared in 1948 was called La Coupe Vide.  In 1954 she earned the Prix David for her collection of stories, La Noir ne dort pas.  She would earn a second award, the Prix de grand jury in 1961 for her short stories called Laure Clouet.(2022)

née Nichols. Born December 3, 1833, Pickering, Ontario. Died January 14,1926, Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A. Kate was a self-taught youth who loved reading.  In 1857 she married a Mr. Churchill and in 1857 the family moved to Minnesota, U.S.A. where she lived an isolated pioneer life which included surviving Indian raids.  She taught in a local rural school. The long winter months allowed her to follow her passion for reading. In 1862 she became a widow with a young daughter and they moved west to California seeking a milder climate for better health. By 1869 she had left her daughter with her sister to work as a travel writer which took her to Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Indian Territory and back to California. In 1874 she published Little Sheeves and followed it up in 1883 with Over the Purple Hills or Sketches from Travel in California. With her writings Kate pioneered freedoms for women and she soon had thoughts of political action to gain female suffrage. She became well known for her actions  for promoting reforms for women in her writings. She also was an early voice for promoting better treatment of immigrants and minority groups including the Chinese and Native Americans. Settling in Colorado she began publishing a newspaper called the Colorado Antelope with the motto 'Come let us reason together'. An instant success she continued with her publication which she renamed the Queen Bee in 1882 and increased it to a weekly publication. She editorialized experiences as a woman traveler and woman journalist .She often challenged male editors and their political stands in their papers. Her works did not get her admitted to the male bastion of the Colorado Press Association. She constantly questioned, and challenged and targeted men's actions including those in the male dominated church. In The Queen Bee was less popular after women in Colorado received the vote so she suspended publication in 1895.  1909 she penned her autobiography, Active Footsteps. (2022)

SEE - Social Activists

She studied for her Bachelor of Arts at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and earned her M.A. at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. She also took additional personal interest courses in California. She worked as a Director of Communications in the Canadian Government.  She worked as a broadcast journalist for the CBC in Toronto and Calgary. A linguist, she speaks English, Italian and French. She has traveled and loves international cuisine. She is married and has two children. In 1988 she earned the Award of Distinction in Broadcasting for her work with the Calgary winter Olympic Games. In 2001 she published her book Take the step, the Bridge will be there (Harper Collins). In 2003 she was the cover story for Women with Vision magazine. She provides help and guidance through workshops and retreats around the world. She is the founder and President of Grace Cirocco Inc. training and coaching company. In 2004 she founded the Goddess Club, a monthly workshop and therapy group in Oakville, Ontario. Source: Grace Cirocco, Biography (accessed 2007); Interview with and inspiring woman by Penny in Discovering She May 14, 2011. Online (accessed December 2011. Suggestion submitted by Joan Lowry.

SEE - Politicians and Civil Servants.

Born 1904, Poland. Died 1981. The young Rhea came to Canada with her Jewish family and settled in Toronto. Two years after arriving she was run over by a streetcar and as a result lost par of her leg. She left school to work in a factory to help support her family after the death of her father. She worked in New York as a researcher for the New York Times and then took a position as a foreign correspondent for the London Daily Express in England.  In 1928, while in her mid 20's, she traveled to the USSR to report on Soviet reforms. Her writings were covered in several newspapers including the Canadian Toronto Telegram. She saw labour camps in north Russia and saw staving Ukrainian peasants in Kharkive. She became the first North American journalist to expose one of the modern genocides. Rhea reported about this Holodomor, the great famine of 1932-33 or terror-genocide, in the Ukraine, calling it murder by starvation. She was arrested, as she traveled to Georgia in the USSR, for reporting false news and was deported in 1932. The reports of this famine were not recognized formally in Russia until the 1980's.  Reporting on Nazi Germany until 1938 Rhea left the country because of growing redress against Jews. Her plane crashed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, but she survived. From 1938-1941 she continued working for the London Daily Press while living in Montreal. She relocated to New York, U.S.A. where she retired. In 2018 her story was told in the documentary Hunger for Truth: The Rhea Clyman Story. In 2019 she was represented in the film Mr. Jones. Source: Meet the Jewish Canadian Reporter Who Interviewed Nazi Leaders Nazi Leaders and Blazed a Trail for Women Journalists by Omar Mosleh, Star Edmonton November 23, 2019 online (accessed 2022)

Born 1912?, Marbeton, Quebec. Died, 1983, Ottawa, Ontario. By 1908 Bettie was a working reporter with the Sherbrooke Record. She worked on the Women’s Pages. By 1941 she had relocated to Ottawa and until 1952 she worked with the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. Written on her grave stone is the sentence” 1st girl journalist on men’s general staff of the Ottawa Citizen.” While working as a journalist she lived with fellow journalist Rosa L. Shaw (1895-1981). In 1952 she switched professions working as a landscaper in Orleans, just outside of Ottawa, retaining in 1982. Source: “Section B, Range 6, Graves 20A & 25” by Marci Surkes, “Stories from the Grave”, Ottawa Citizen September 28, 2004.

Died December 26, 1962, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.Elaine hosted her own live TV Show, the Elaine Cole Show, on C K C O TV and was the televisions director of Women's Interests from 1954 through the 1970's. She worked until her crippling rheumatoid arthritis forced her to retire. She was a well beloved sponsor of the MU Master chapter of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. In 1974 she was named Kitchener Waterloo Citizen of the year. She was also a strong supporter of the Arthritis Society where she served on the board. She was also active in the Local United Way and  Young Women's Christian Association (Y W C A). Elaine was married with two children. Source, various newspaper clippings unidentified) In Memoriam, C K C O History, Online (accessed 2025)

née Ferguson. Born February 20, 1856, Castleblakeney, Galway, Ireland. Died  May 16, 1915, Hamilton, Ontario. The young Kit was educated at Loretto Abbey, Rothfarnham, Ireland and then at finishing school in Belgium. She married Thomas Willis under her adopted name of Kathleen Blake. After the death of her first husband, and their only child, Kit immigrated to Canada in 1884. She worked as a secretary and then married her boss, Edward Watkins. The couple would live in Toronto and Winnipeg raising two children. She turned to journalism to support herself and her two children after the death of her second husband she worked cleaning houses but then began to see her writings published in such magazines as Saturday Night. Back in Toronto in 1890 she became the first woman journalist to be in charge of her own section of a newspaper with the Women's Kingdom in the Toronto Mail. Her full page column not only discussed fashion but reported in her personal outspoken manner all the top topics of the day. Soon her columns were syndicated to newspapers across the country. In 1893 she covered the World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois. In 1897 she reported on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Boarding a boat in Florida she landed in Cuba as the world’s first woman accredited war correspondent in 1898 reporting on the Spanish American War for the Toronto Mail newspaper. She would work with the Toronto Mail newspaper until she retired. Back from Cuba she married Dr. Theobald Coleman and settled in Copper Cliff, northern Ontario. By 1901 the couple were living in Hamilton, Ontario. She was part of the group of Canadian women Journalists who were sponsored to go to the St Louis World's Fair in 1904 and during the trip they established the Canadian Women's Press Club, with Kit as the first president. Kit also became known for her published books of poetry.  *Her birth is often listed as 1864. (2022)

née Barrett. Born May 7, 1933, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died June 22, 2015, East Berlin, Nova Scotia. Arlene worked at several professions such as being a teenage fashion photographer, an antique dealer, and a cattle farmer but, it was her passion for writing that would last the longest. In 1958 she married Clarence H. Corkum and the couple had three sons. Her written works appeared in publications from the Halifax Herald Ltd., Cameron Publications, Transcontinental Media and Graphic Advocate Publications. She writings appeared in the Queens County Advance and the Shelburne Coast Guard. In the 1970’s she began a weekly column for The Advance in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Arlyene also wrote short stories and poetry winning the first Joseph How Festival Award in 1975. In 1976 she began working on television producing and hosting shows viewed locally and internationally. She was the founder and first president of the South Shore Literary Club, past national Vice-president of the Media Club of Canada (formerly the Canadian Women’s Press Club), a founding member of the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia’s Writer’s Council board member, and member of the International Association of women. She also served as president of the Queens County Historical Society, Milton Heritage Society, and served on the Board of Directors and/or edited numerous newsletters within these organizations. In 1991 she received a Nova Scotia Government Environment Citation, and the Media Club of Canada National Press Award. In 1992 she received the Governor Generals Medal for historical writing. She also received the Canada 125 National Volunteer plaque in 1992. She won a Children’s Aid Society First Certification of Appreciation for Foster Care. Source: Canadian Women of Note, Canadian Womens Press Club, 1994.

Born 1952, Montreal, Quebec. Died October 6, 2000, Toronto, Ontario. Carole's early education was in French until her divorced mother remarried an Anglophone and she attended  Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School. She also spent time in Wales on an International Baccalaureate before studying at York University, Toronto. She married actor Layne Coleman and the couple had one daughter. She worked as an arts reporter for The Globe and Mail, Toronto in the 1980's. In 1992 she penned her first novel, Voice-Over, which included passages in both English and French. In 1993 she earned the Toronto Book Award. In the 1990's she switched to writing for the Toronto Star and contributed to This Magazine, Canadian Art, and Saturday Night magazine winning two National Magazine Awards for her writings. In 1997, In the Wings, her second novel was published. The novel was adapted for stage at the Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto, in 2002. (2022)

Born April 11, 1901, Leeds County, Ontario. Thelma earned her BA at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario and then attended the Ontario College of Education, Toronto. She be began a career in teaching having taught for 5 years in Western Ontario. She decided to be a journalist and worked as a staff writer for the Mail & Empire newspaper, Toronto. She was one of the top ten Ace reporters, and the only woman to cover the 1939 Royal visit to Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. During world War 11 she was one of the members of the Canadian Women’s Press Club who would serve the government. Source: Canadian Women of Note, Canadian Women’s Press Club,  York University, 1994. 

Born August 11, 1909 London, Ontario. Died May 4, 1983. By 1933 she had earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario in London. She became a member of the newsroom staff of the London Free Press. From 1941 through 1974 she was a reporter. She was a critic of music art and cultural events. She maintained a weekly column and a digest of French Canadian editorial opinion that appeared in daily and weekly French language newspapers in both Ontario and Quebec. She was in the London Bureau of the Windsor Star newspaper and was the first woman reporter in the Windsor Star newsroom.

née Murphy. Born July 20, 1903, Ashcroft, British Columbia. Died September 13, 1982. She earned her BA at the University of British Columbia and in 1924 she received her MA from the University of Toronto. From 1924 through 1945 she lectured in English literature at both the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. She served 9 years on the Senate at the University of British Columbia. From 1945 through 1968 she was a full time free lance script writer and broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio and television. Source: Canadian Women of Note. Media Club of Canada. (Toronto: York University, 1994) no. 184 page 202.

Kierstead. Born August 25, 1895, New Brunswick. Died May 31, 1989, Regina Saskatchewan. Like many young ladies of her generation, Liz graduated from Normal School (teachers' College). She went west to teach in Regina, Saskatchewan. She soon met and married Warburton Kerr Cruickshank (1886-1958) and the couple raised two children. Through her Westminster Church she became involved with the Local Council of Women. She would serve as the local president in the mid 1930's and as provincial Council of Women President from 1939 through 1942. She also was active in Regina's Community Chest operating the sewing room. During the Second World War (1939-1945) she did extensive work as provincial chairperson of the Women's Activities for the National War Finance Committee. Her war time efforts were recognized in 1948 when she received the Order of the British Empire. As an active member of the Saskatchewan Natural History Society she proposed the creation of the Museum of Natural History. She scripted writings for the Department of Education nature broadcasts on C B C Radio. She also was a journalist writing under the pen name of Liz Roley she had a column in the Regina Leader-Post newspaper. She published, A Second Look: Liz Roly's Nature Notes, in 1976. She was an active member of the Regina Canadian Women's Press Club receiving the Centennial Medal for Women in Journalism in 1967. Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)

née Short. Born May 11, 1851, Port Hope, Canada West (now Ontario). Died November 1, 1930 Toronto, Ontario. Emily attended Mrs. Lucy Simpson's Seminary for Young Ladies in Montreal. September 27, 1871 she married Willoughby Cummings of Toronto. The couple had one daughter. Emily began her working career as a journalist, working from 1893 through 1903 on the editorial staff of the Toronto Globe. In 1888 she attended the founding International Council of Women in Washington D.C., U.S.A. In 1890 she represented the Mission Society of the Church of England touring Indian reservations in British Columbia, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. She wrote of her visits to the reservations in the Canadian Church Magazine and Mission News. In 1893 she was a special correspondent for the Globe and the Manitoba Morning Free Press of Winnipeg for the International Council of Women meeting in Chicago. That same year she assisted Lady Aberdeen (1857-1939) in founding the National Council of Women.  From 1894 through 1910 she was the corresponding secretary of t the National Council of Women. She also served on the Ladies Committee of the Toronto Industrial Exhibition (now the Canadian National Exhibition  C. N. E. ) when it began in 1901. April 1, 1910 the Canadian government appointed her to a paying position in the Department of Trade and Commerce.  In 1910 she received the honorary degree of D. C .L. from King's College, Windsor and became the first woman to receive an honorary degree from a Canadian University. She was a member of the British Society of Women Journalists and after World War l she joined the Canadian Women's Press Club.

As a school girl, she won a prize in a writing competition run by the London Advertiser and she became a contributor to the newspaper. In 1904 she was a member of a group of women journalists sponsored by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to travel and cover the St Louis World's Fair. It was during the train trip that she participated in the founding of the Canadian Women's Press Club. She would marry Elfred Archibald of Montreal where she joined the staff of the Montreal Star, using Margaret Currie as her byline.

Born September 5, 1959, Brockville, Ontario. Her love of sports was evident during her years as a student at Thousand islands Secondary School where she participated in basketball provincial championships for Ontario. While at the University of Oklahoma in the USA she was twice named “Big 12” basketball player of the year. She was the highest Canadian ever drafted by the Woman's National Basketball Association where she played for the Washington Mystics. She retired from the court in 2004. In 2002 she bean working for ESPN as a studio sports analyst and has expanded her sports coverage since then. In 2004 USA Today named her Rookie analyst of the year, and in 2004 she has been named “Best new face”.

Born c1785. Died June 14, 1859. Married to Thomas Dalton in 1805, the family attempted to establish themselves in business in Newfoundland before moving to Kingston, Upper Canada in 1817. Again, the family attempted several businesses before establishing a newspaper, The Patriot and Farmers Monitor , November 12, 1829. The family decided to move the newspaper to York, now Toronto, in 1832 as The Patriot. . It is said that Sophia would edit her husband’s writings to avoid any legal issues. When Thomas died in 1840, Sophia took over the paper, becoming the first woman publisher of a Toronto newspaper, a position she maintained until the paper was sold in 1848. Dalton Road in Toronto is named in honour of the family.

née Marchand. Born 1862, St John, New Brunswick. Died 1925. Like most early women writers she would use a pen name to sign her writing. She was known as Josette. A strong feminist she championed the role of women in Quebec society. In 1892 she founded le coin de feu which was the first women’s literary review in Canada. She was also a strong orator and was often called the female Laurier. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier.  In 1898 she was the first Canadian woman to be made an officer of the French Academy in France. In 1900 she was the government appointed Canadian Commissioner to the famous Paris Exhibition. In 1901 in her work, Two systems of art, she proposed government provide funding for the arts. This was a full 50 years before the Canada Council of the Arts. Source: D C B

Born 1915, Aylmer, Quebec. Died 1967. In 1921, when she was just six, a great fire ravaged much of the city leaving a lasing imprint on her young mind. Marjorie became a journalist and news photographer and covered stories about many fires. It was also part of her duty to interview and photograph numerous political figures and dignitaries. Her works were published in Time, Mayfair, Life, in the U.S.A. and In Canada in Saturday Night magazine and the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto. Her archives are held by the Aylmer Heritage Association. Source: Notable Women of the Gatineau Valley and the Outaouais. online (accessed 2022)

See - Mary Adelaide Dawson Snider

née Ryder. Born July 22, 1927, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died January 2, 2026, Hampton, New Brunswick. . As a youth she had short stories published and as a Girl Guide she was one of the first in the province to earn her Gold Cord. She had a love of animals growing up and after high school she bought a horse. She married Fred Dearborn in 1948 and the couple had three daughters and a son.  She was an active volunteer with the Canadian Mental Health Association. She began a career in public relations and worked for the Amana Corporation and Simpson Sears. By the early 1960's she had turned to working in TV and was host of the Check and Double Check show where high school students and adults explored and debated the issues of the day.  The family settled in Hampton and became the place for domestic animals to fine care and shelter. They even had a pet pig and a three legged goat. She wrote editorials at this time for the King's County Record. In 1963 she was the first woman in New Brunswick to run for a seat in the Canadian Parliament. She began writing for the and was appointed city editor as the first woman to hold this position in Canada.  She also wroted for  magazines and published more than a dozen best-selling books on New Brunswick.  She was a founding member and President of the South West New Brunswick Chapter of the Periodical Professional Writers Association of Canada (P W A C). Source: Obituary online (accessed 2023)

Born January 12, 1905, Edmonton, Alberta.  Died December 19, 1988, Markham, Ontario. Lotta followed her father’s advice and took up teaching as a respectable profession. It lasted eight weeks! Her teaching career was spent in a one room school in Four Corners Alberta! Her first marriage to Sid Richardson lasted six months in 1923. Not succeeding at the acceptable, Lotta followed her desires and landed a job on a newspaper. With no male reporters available the editor of the Edmonton Journal sent her off to collect a story and interview Charlotte Whitton (1896-1975), the newly appointed Director of the Canadian Welfare Council. Seeing that the new reporter was very nervous Charlotte Whitton proceeded to provide the questions and the answers for the interview. Lotta was now on her way to a remarkable career. She moved to the Edmonton Bulletin and from there to Toronto in 1935 where she landed a job with Chatelaine Magazine. Her writings were written with “Gusto’ under several pseudonyms including a more acceptable feature writing name of Jack Armstrong. In December 1936 she married Architect Richard Fisher and by 1938 she was a working mother with a new son. In the 40’s she worked for the War Time Prices Board and in the C B C Newsroom. In 1944 she was back at Chatelaine. Missing the daily bustle of newspapers she was soon working for the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper.  Moving in 1953, she began a long career as columnist and editor at the Toronto Star. She was known for her large hats, big purses, and smoking cigarettes in a long holder. Her hardy laughter no doubt helped her survive the discriminating world of male journalism. She won the Canadian Women’s Press Club Member’s Award in 1948, 1967 and 1976. In 1975 she was named to the News Hall of Fame. She was also a founder of the Voice of Women for Peace in 1960. Her auto biography No Life For a Lady was published in 1976. She retired from the Star in 1981. Source: Driving Miss Dempsey by Ryan Jennings the Ryerson Review of Journalism. Spring, 1999. Additional reading: Lotta Dempsey: The Lady Was a Star by Carolyn Davis Fisher (Toronto, Belsten Publishers, 1995)

née Sandys. Born 1854(?) Chatham, Ontario. Died February 1, 1914, Toronto, Ontario. As a young girl she attended Hellmuth College in London, Ontario. She is considered Canada’s 1st female travel writer. In 1890 she published A Happy Holiday, a picture storybook, in 1890.  She worked as a journalist and society editor for Saturday Night Magazine for 23 years using the pen name ‘Lady Gay’. It is said that she made an unhappy marriage. In 1904 she was the oldest member of a group of 16 journalists who traveled to the St, Louis World’s Fair on behalf of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. On the train trip returning to Canada the women formed the Canadian Women's Press Club, however Grace Elizabeth Dennison did not become a member of the club. She also published The Canadian Family Cook Book a volume of tried, tested and proven recipes which ran in several editions from 1912 through 1939’s. Source: Linda Kay, Sweet Sixteen: the journey that inspired the Canadian Women’s Press Club, 2012.

née Merrill. Born February 20(?) 1867 North Hastings County, Canada West (now Ontario). Died May 23, 1921, Toronto, Ontario. In order to support her love and desire for writing she ran a successful dressmaking business in Toronto. She married a travelling salesman and the couple had one son. The marriage was however short lived and only strengthened Flora’s belief in divorce and free love. As a young woman working as a costumer for the Robert Simpson company in Toronto  she witnessed firsthand the horrible conditions of the city’s sweat shops, and vowed to do what she could to change the lives of the women who worked in them. In 1903 she was introduced to the suffragist movement by Dr. Elizabeth Stowe, the first woman to practice medicine in Canada. In 1906, Flora attended the Copenhagen Conference as a delegate of the Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association, and in 1911- 1914 she was the president of the Canadian Suffragist Association. She worked tirelessly with others to organize “monster rallies” and send dozens of petitions to members of the legislature to improve the plight of women and get them the vote. She resigned her position due to her support for the more militant English suffragettes. Her strong life views were expressed in her regular column in the Toronto Sunday World, 1909-1913. During WWI she was a active and strong supporter of the Whitmanite movement which was a social and spiritual movement based on the works of Walt Whitman. In 1916 she published the Whitmanite magazine entitled The Sunset of Bon Echo from 1916-1920. Later she became a theosophist and in just before her deaths she participated in the Theosophist Social Reconstruction League. Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia, on line (accessed March 2006)

Journalist & photographer

Born 1881, Truro, Nova Scotia. Died February 16,1958. As a child her family moved to Halifax where her publisher father provided the town with its two major newspapers. In 1912 he was appointed to the Senate of Canada. Clara attended both Mount Allison University, Sackville and Dalhousie University, Halifax. She finished her studies with courses in stenography and typing and the Halifax Business College so that she might pursue appropriate employment for a young woman of her era. After a trip overseas she had a great desire to tour her home province. She took alone her camera to provide images of her travels. She would produce three major books of trips in Nova Scotia that would be published by Ryerson Press. Her home province travel writings also appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country informing all of Canada of the beauties of Nova Scotia. In 1939 she composed the provincial chapter on a souvenir booked produced for the King and Queen’s Royal Tour . She had a keen eye for photography and a charming writing style that left a descriptive legacy of her beloved home. Her photographs showed people. Nature. Places and architecture including lighthouses and even Cabbage houses on Tancook Island. Her promotion of the province was her passion which was recognized with and honourary doctor of Literature from Mount Allison University and a life membership in the Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Women’s Press Club. Her legacy of thousand of images is preserved in the Nova Scotia Archives.  Source: Clara Dennis: tours Nova Scotia - Biographical Sketch. Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management. (accessed June 2008.)   Suggestion submitted by Cabot Yu, Ottawa, Ontario June 2008.

Born February 6, 1860, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Died November 17, 1946, Montreal, Quebec. When she was 14 Henriette began to keep a diary. She kept up her diary until 1881 when she married Maurice St-Jacques (died 1897). The couple had seven children together. After the death of her husband she began writing a column for La Patrie using the pen name Jean Deshayes.  She also wrote for  Robertine Barry's (1863-1910) Le Journal de Francoise, Le Courrier de Montmagny, La Revue de la femme, La Revue moderne, Le Canada, and Le Nationaliste. She joined the staff of the newspaper Le Devoir in 1910. Here she wrote a column under the pseudonym 'Fadette' which she continued until the 1940's. Beginning in 1914 compilations of her columns were published as Lettres de Fadette. She also published several several books for children. In 1971 her childhood diaries were published as Fadette: Journal d'Henriette Dessaulles 1874-1881.  .In 1986 and English translation by Liedewy Hawke was published as, Hope and Dreams: The Diary of Henriette Dessaulles 1874-1881 winning the John Glassco Translation Prize and the Canada Council Translation Prize. In 2007 a street was named in her honour in Levis, Quebec.

Born 1945,  Huston, Texas, U.S.A. Rita relocated to Canada in 1967 to work as producer of a children’s television programme. In 1974 was working as a television journalist with the CBC program Take 30. Leaving the CBC in 1983 she taught journalism at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan and by 1988 she had become a founder of Vision TV, the world’s 1st and only multi-faith television network. She worked as an executive and hosted numerous interstitial segments where she was known for often sporting a flower in her hair. She has been named to the Maclean’s Honor Roll of Outstanding Canadians and is a Member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. She has an interest in Black Canadian drama and is a board member of Obsidian Theatre Company, Toronto, Ontario. In 2005 she was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada. Having that same year completed a term as director of News and Current Affairs for APTN, the world’s 1st Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. It was in 2005 that she wrote and performed three, on-woman shows, Smoked Glass Ceiling, McCarthy and the old Woman, and Big Ease.  In 2006 she was awarded the Festival Mentorship Award by Banff TV and in 2007 she became a Quebecer Fellow for the Banff TV Festival. That same year she was appointed the 1st CanWest Global Fellow which is a one-term commitment in residence at the University of Western Ontario (now Western University), London, Ontario in 2007. 2008/2009 she was the 1st storyteller-in-residence at the Centre for Creative Communications of Centennial College. July 2009 to June 2012 she was the holder of the Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2005 and is a member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. (2019)

In 1928 Anna took to the airwaves on Station C W H H in Halifax, Nova Scotia becoming the 1st Canadian woman radio broadcaster. She began her career with a daily morning broadcast from her home. She spoke to her listeners  as if she were a guest in a persons home. She talked of local news, items of general interest and ordinary conversation items enjoyed by women. She became known as the "Queen of the airwaves'. During World War l her broadcasts reached overseas on short wave radio. Her last broadcast was given from her hospital bed and had to be cut short as she was unable to breathe. (2020)

née Leslie Born July 2, 1921, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died January 23, 2018, Ottawa, Ontario. She obtained her BA at Guilford College, North Carolina, U.S.A.1941.  Her Masters studies would wait until her family has grown. She received her Masters in Journalism at Carleton University 2003. She Married David Rutherford Dickson (d 1992) in 1942.. As a young woman she and her husband, settled in Pontiac County, Quebec raising a family of 6 children while publishing and editing the weekly newspaper The Equity. Rosaleen served as the newspaper's editor for more than 30 years.  Retiring from the paper  she helped her son Ross in launching the Hill Times in Ottawa an she taught journalism students at Ryerson University at 75 years of age. She continued to write feature articles for the Hill Times, the newspaper of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. She has co-authored, as well as written her own books that have included:  The Leslie-Dickson Family Histories,; HTML: the Basic Book for People Who Would Rather Do It Than Read It and The Mother-in-law book. In 2004 she wrote a play One Hundred years of Daring, celebrating the founding of the Canadian Womens’ Press Club. She took to the internet as a natural extension of communication and enjoys writing for senior ‘Zines’ as well as developing and maintaining web sites for such auspicious groups as the National Press Club of Canada. Her personal web site displayed the pride she had of her 18 grandchildren and 21 great grand children. Rosaleen was a life long member of the Media Club of Ottawa (formerly the Canadian Women's Press Club.)

née Le Porte. Born February 22, 1853, London, Canada West (now Ontario).  Died September 7, 1916, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. In 1855 she moved with her family to New Jersey, U.S.A.  She was educated at home with a governess prior to attending convent school and public schools. In the early fall of 1873 she moved to Kansas, U.S.A. where she married Alvin S. Diggs and the couple had two daughters and one son.  She began her working career as a journalist at the Kansas Liberal with her husband. She soon became known for giving speeches and then political speeches. 1892 was the first time women were able to lead a delegation at an American national Political convention and Annie was chairman of the delegation from Washington D.C.  From 1898 to 1902 she served as the Kansas State Librarian.  She was an associate editor of the The Advocate newspaper in Topeka, Kansas. She wrote  the books, Silk Raising in Kansas: Instruction Book, Catalogue of the Law Books in the Kansa State Library,  Little Brown Brothers and the Story of Jerry Simpson, a popular politician. She served as president  of the Women's Alliance of the District of Columbia, the Kansas Women's Free Silver League, the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association and the Kansas Women's Press Association. In 1903 she was a delegate to the International Cooperative Congress, Manchester, England and the following year she attended the Peace Congress in Rouen, France. Her last book was published in 1912, Bedrock: Education and Employment, the Foundation of the Republic. (2024)

SEE - Academics & Librarians

Born February 22, 1956, Toronto, Ontario In 1985 she began working as a host a producer for MuchMusic. By 1992 she was director of music programming and by 1997 she was vice-president and general manager. She holds two Gemini Awards; Special Event Coverage for Election Night 93 and in 1992, as Producer for The NewMusic. In 1998 she launched MuchMoreMusic. By 2000 she was president of Sony Music Canada. In 2001 she won the Peter Gzowski Literacy Award of Merit along with a Woman of Vision Award, and Woman of the year from Canadian Women in Communications.  On September 17, 2008 she became an executive director of CBC Radio’s English language services. Leaving CBC in 2011 she hosed the TV program, The Zoomer, co-hosting with Conrad Black on Vision television Network. In 2009 she was listed as one of Canada’s Top 100 Powerful women and that same year, son the Rosalie Trailblazer Award during Canadian Music Week. She is a member of the Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame and a Member of the Order of Canada.

Born April 23, 1946, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 7, 2006, Victoria, British Columbia. Joan began working at C B C in 1967 as an editor for National Radio News.  She would also work as Senior Editor of World at Six and Sunday Morning Magazine as well as news special broadcasts. During the war in Viet Nam she  reported on sight and went on to produce Michael Maclear's Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War documentary films. By 1971 she was in Winnipeg working as producer of the evening news show 24 Hours. By 1973 she was back in Toronto as a producer on Newsmagazine. Switching to C T V she worked as a field producer on W5. In 1975 she joined the staff at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Metropolitan Toronto University) teaching broadcasting and journalism. She also taught at the Journalism Program for Native People at the University of Western Ontario (now Western University). In the 1980's she married Arthur Galgoot  but sadly the marriage soon ended in divorce.  In 1985 she was back with the C B C as co-ordinatior of Regional Programing, TV News and Current Affairs. By 1987 she was head of C B C Newsworld. In 1990 she was shit by a bicyclist in Montreal, Quebec and suffered brain damage  and was in a coma for two years. Waking as a quadriplegic she was unable to continue her broadcasting career. The Donaldson Scholarship is awarded annually to aspiring journalists. (2024)

Born June 8, 1945, Toronto, Ontario. After her master's studies at the University of Toronto she began her career in broadcasting by working at various radio stations in Ottawa and Toronto and then in England. Returning to Canada in 1975 she began working for CBC. As host of CBC. Radio "Sunday Morning" broadcast she won an ACTRA Award for Best Host Interview on Radio in 1980. As a freelance writer she has written for the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Books in Canada, and London Magazine. In 1987 she won National Magazine Award for her work in Toronto Life. She published a book in 1988 which was awarded the Ann Saddlemyer Book Award.

Born India. She was brought up on a dairy farm in Beausejour, Manitoba. She attended the University of Winnipeg before entering a career in broadcasting. When she first started her career she wanted to break the mould of the idea that most Indians were either extreme intellectuals, researchers or taxi drivers! She was a very popular host on Much Music's Electric Circus from 1988 through 1996. When she left the show some 35,000 people came to her farewell on her final episode. By 2002 she was working as a Vancouver news anchor for CityTV. In July 2003 she stepped down from City Pulse tonight to spend more time with her husband and children.

Born April 23, 1946, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 7, 2006, Victoria, British Columbia. After graduating high school, Joan decided to go to work in the newsrooms of C H U M - F M and C K E Y radio stations in Toronto. Joan joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (C B C) in 1967 in Toronto to work as an editor with National Radio News. She reported from Viet Nam during the war and later produced Michael Maclear's Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War, which was a series of documentary films. In 1971 she was a producer of the early evening news show, 24 Hours, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. By 1973 she was back in Toronto to produce Newsmagazine and news specials. She worked for five years with C T V's program W5 and in 1975 she joined the teaching staff at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) and the staff at the University of Western Ontario in London. In the decade of the 1980's she married and divorced Arthur Gelgoot and returned to work with C B C as Co-ordinatior of Regional Programming, TV News and Current Affairs.  She was appointed head of C B C Newsworld in 1987. In the fall of 1990 she was hit by a bicyclist in Montreal and was in a coma for two years and became a quadriplegia. In 1999 C B C Newsworld established a scholarship in her name for aspiring journalists. She died from complications of her injuries. Source: Obituary. C B C online (accessed 2022)

Born December 24, 1958, Bathurst, New Brunswick. Lyse attended Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, graduating in 1980. While at university she wrote for the university newspaper. She went on in 1982 to earn her Master's in International Relations from the University of Toronto. After graduating she volunteered for four months to teach English in the Ivory Coast, Africa. In 1983 she worked as a freelance journalist in West Africa for Canadian media and began working for the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). By 1988 she was reporting from Pakistan. From 1989to 1993 she was the BBC correspondent in Islamabad also reporting from Afghanistan and Iran. 1994 found her at the BBC office in Amman, Jordan. She served from Jerusalem and across the middle East through to 1999. In 2003 she earned a Silver Sony Award for News Broadcaster of the Year. In 2010 she earned a Peabody Award for her film work in Afghanistan. That same year she earned the Sony Radio Academy Award for Best News Journalist. 2007 saw named the International Television Personality of the Year by the Association for International Broadcasting and the News and Factual Award from the Women in Film and Television. In 2014 she made the documentary Children of Syria which was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2015. That same year she made the documentary Children of the Gaza War. In 2014 she became an Officer in the Order of the British Empire (OBE). She also received a Bayeux-Calvados Award for war correspondents. In 2017 she earned the Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award at the International Media Awards. Starting in January 2018 she began presenting Her Story Made History; a five-part series on the BBC Radio featuring in-depth interviews with remarkable women with the theme showing the relationship between women and democracy. Proud of her roots she attends the Acadian World Congress which is held every five years. In 2018 she became a Member of the Order of Canada.

Born August 12, 1949 Montreal, Quebec. She studies industrial design at an architectural school but ended up with a completely different career path. An author, translator and illustrator she has translated more than 400 titles and published more than 60 original books, seven of which she has illustrated herself! She also writes scripts for plans and recorded a series of broadcasts on legends and music for Radio Canada. To think that she does all of this with ease in both of Canada's official languages!!! Her works have be awarded the Governor General's Award (Victor, 1992) and in 1993 La 42e soeur de Bebert and 1995 La Bergerede chevaux won the Mr. Christie's Book Award.

Born December 22, 1861, Brantford, Upper Canada (Ontario). Died July 22, 1922, Ashtead, England. Like many women of her era she trained as a teacher at the Toronto Normal School graduating in 1882.  Her 1st published poems appeared in 1880 and an article was published a year later. In 1884 she published articles on the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans. She published the articles under the pseudonym (pen name) ‘Garth’ and the articles were picked up by American papers. In 1886 she took over the ‘Woman’s World’ section of the Globe. Using her own name she also wrote a column for the Toronto literary periodical Week on important intellectual issues of the day. She left Toronto in November 1887 to work for the Montreal Star and by February 1888 she was the papers parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa. She and fellow journalist Lily Lewis mourned around the world sending stories of their exploits to the Montreal Star. These stories Jeannette turned into a novel in 1890, A social departure; how Orthodocia and I went around the world by ourselves. The trip provided fodder tor two additional publications. In 1890 she married Everard Charles Coates in Calcutta, India. Her 1st novel appeared in 1894.  A daughter of to-day was the 1st book to appear under the name of Mrs. Everard Coates (Sara Jeannette Duncan). After her marriage she continued producing a steady number of articles and worked on the autobiographical On the other site published in 1901. She would publish 22 books and she had more planned. During World War she travelled between India and London , England working on an original stage play which were sadly unsuccessful. In 1919 the couple settled in England. She died of chronic lung problems exacerbated by her smoking.

née Boucher. Born September 25, 1885, St, Damien de Brandon, Quebec. Died January 6, 1976, Vancouver, British Columbia. She taught school for a time prior to marrying Joseph Duperreault in 1904. In 1907 the couple settled on a homestead near Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan. Marie Anne was mother to twelve children. Between 1910 and 1940, despite being a busy mother and farm wife she found time to pen for the French language newspaper, Le Patriote de L'Ouest. Using the nom de plume Perrette, she wrote on all topics from family life, religion, politics, education,  and being part of the French speaking minority. She would hold the volunteer position as editor of the Women's Page until the newspaper moved to Manitoba. After the death of her husband in 1961 she relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2022)